The Orange Clad Warriors
by BeerusUzumaki
Summary: Certain circumstances force Naruto to leave the Leaf Village earlier than expected. It was during this time that he meets a rather interesting child, one that enjoys orange as much as he. Check out the fun adventures of these two young warriors!
1. The Beginning

Chapter 1: Forest Encounter

"Man... Cathy, Cathy, you sure can make me happy."

An old figure stumbled down the crowded streets of Konoha, leaving the home of one of his ... "research partners." His stench of whiskey and ladies perfume (among other things) would cause an Inuzuka to tuck tail and run. The crowd was parted to give the man all the room he needed. He ignored all of the looks he was given, considering it was the middle of the day.

To some, this would be an unacceptable behavior. He would be labeled as a simple drunk or womanizer. To the members of this village however, they knew that this was one of the most powerful men to grace this village.

"Oi! Good afternoon Jiraiya-sama!"

The old man, now identified as Jiraiya, waved at a passing couple. When they passed, he peeked back to view the assets of the female in the duo.

"Eh, I've seen better," he said as he turned back straight, narrowly avoiding bumping into another person.

Jiraiya let out a huge yawn while cleaning his ear with his pinky. "Man where am I going to crash tonight..." he thought while scratching his chin. His face then brightened up with an idea. "Oh yeah, Ryuka's in town! I heard she has a room... Hehehe..." He rubbed his hands together as he made a very disturbing look. Passing people looked at him awkwardly, most already knowing what was going through his perverted mind.

"Crap..." he mumbled as he face palmed. He just realized that he wasn't clean. He sniffed himself for emphasis and nearly gagged. If he approached her like this, he would definitely be punched back to the day the Nine-Tales attacked.

Jiraiya's face drooped at the memory. He let loose a long sigh and a silent prayer. He missed his student, immensely. The Fourth Hokage was one of the greatest men he had the pleasure to meet. He always put others first, no matter the circumstances. The man even died to protect his village, sealing the beast inside he and his wife's only child.

"Minato... Kushina..." he mumbled while looking towards the Hokage Monument. Just seeing the stone face of the man brought back happy yet painful memories. "I wonder how my god kids doi-"

Jiraiya was suddenly struck by pain. He grimaced as he fell to one knee, groaning and gripping his head. "Man, I told my shadow clones not to disperse when I'm dru-"

The old man's face tensed as the knowledge from the clone was transferred to him. He could tell the it was defeated by genjutsu, and a very powerful one at that. He also could remember a pair of glowing red eyes just before the Jutsu was cast.

The old sage quickly created a shadow clone and they each ran in different directions.

"What the hell is the Akatsuki doing here?" he mused. Although be asked, however, he already knew the answer.

'I'll be there in a second, kid!'

XxxoxxX

The Third Hokage sat in his office, slowly puffing on his pipe. He was currently looking at the files on the participating genin, mainly the ones from Konoha at the moment. They were pretty good, and they were currently entering stage two of the chunnin exams.

The most unique and possibly strongest team was led by his elite Jonin, Might Guy. Guy is one of the greatest shinobi in the village. The most interesting thing about that statement is that he does it without any ninjutsu or genjutsu. He was a taijutsu specialist, one that he was sure would beat him in a purely physical fight in his prime.

His star student was Neji Hyūga. Neji was a very cold guy, to be honest. He never smiled or betrayed any emotion other than annoyance. His skills are very advanced for a genin. Being so talented only caused Neji to further himself from others.

Rock Lee was the dead last of his class, and in only a year he is among the best. He has no aptitude for ninjutsu or genjutsu, making him a perfect disciple of Guy. The orphan is one of the fastest and physically strongest shinobi in the village already, a testament to his incredible work ethic.

Tenten is a kunoichi that is all about her business, she's a master at any weapon she touches, and even owns her own shop where she fixes and sells weapons. Being an orphan never deterred her from her dream of becoming a kunoichi on par with Tsunade Senju.

He placed the files to the side and grabbed another stack. He was instantly staring in the face of an annoyed teen. He chuckled as he began reading the file on Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was a Nara. Even though his test scores were average, the Hokage knew that it was a front. His numbers were... 'too' average, to put it simply. He did exactly what was needed to pass, nothing less nothing more. The old man knew that he enjoyed sitting on the rooftops of the village and gaze at the sky for some unknown reason. He chuckled at the thought for it reminded him of another Nara that just so happened to be his father.

His best friend was on his team as well, a Choji Akimichi. The boy wasn't anything exceptional at the moment. He had a very large heart, and a stomach to match. From what his files said, he didn't have any skills that stood out from his clan. His greatest ability was his kindness, which could also be a weakness.

And then there was Ino Yamanaka. Ino was the self proclaimed leader of the Sasuke Uchiha fan club. No, really. She put it on her exam application to let the world know. From his reports on the girl, she had no stand out skills neither. To him, this group could possibly be the weakest out of Konoha. That is, if they weren't being led by his son Asuma.

His son Asuma was one of the best Jonin in the village, possibly number three in his opinion behind Guy and Kakashi, but that could be him being biased. The man and he were not that close anymore for they had different views. His son even left the village to become one of the Daimyo's personal guards. This taught him many more skills, or at least the Hokage thought. Since he and the man didn't really speak he was uncertain.

Then there was Team Kurenai. The Hyūga heiress Hinata was a member. Although she was shy, she had taijutsu skills that exceeded some chunin. If she wasn't so down on herself, he was sure that she would become great. He was also aware of her crush on Naruto, just as many of the others had picked up on. He was curious to see how that would pan out, especially while dealing with her father.

The Inuzuka kid Kiba was aggressive. The Hokage believed that that would benefit Hinata and hopefully rub off onto her. Although he lost his father at a young age, he wasn't particularly upset. It only made him take being a shinobi more seriously. Skill wise he was the second best member of his class, but unfortunately for him his academics were pretty low.

Shino Aburame was also pretty good, he had potential as well. His clan kept most of their training secret, but it was brought to the Hokage's attention on a monthly basis. The young Aburame was a tactician that always thought before he act, a fine trait for a shinobi indeed.

Their leader was Kurenai Yūhi. Kurenai was one of the most beautiful woman that Hiruzen had ever seen. He knew better than to tell her that, however. Her attitude towards vulgar men is known to be deadly. Her genjutsu was tops in the village, hands down.

Team 7 was ... odd to say the least. They had the rookie of the year Sasuke Uchiha, with a newly awakened Sharingan in tow. Hiruzen could see great power in him.

He also saw great hatred, however. The boy was forced to watch his family be slaughtered in front of him by none other than his only brother. Since then, he became addicted to revenge. He silently wished that the boy didn't become consume by it.

Then there was Sakura. There wasn't anything too special about her, except her book smarts, which were top marks. She was ineffective in battle, or so he was told. She seemed to be much more interested in being pretty than strong, like most of the kunoichi of her generation.

And finally was the unofficial grandchild of his Naruto.

Naruto was a mystery. He never knew much about Naruto's power, but he always saw potential. He was amazed each time Kakashi briefed him with a report. Naruto seemed to improve quickly, and wasn't too many steps behind Sasuke now.

He was worried about the seal on his stomach though. If what Kakashi told him was true about their recent mission, then something needed to be done quickly. He didn't need a repeat of what happened twelve years ago.

Hiruzen chucked as he stroked his beard, thinking about the future of his village. He was sure that the Will of Fire burned brightly in each of the genin. This was the best class in a while, that was for sure. He was sure that he would be able to retire happily soon.

Hiruzen suddenly tensed. He felt like something was off. He looked out of his office window and saw his student Jiraiya sprinting at him, causing him to spring out of his seat. The man stepped back as Jiraiya jumped through the window, landing on one knee.

"What's the matter Jiraiya?" he questioned with urgency in his voice. His nose then crinkled. "And WHAT is that smell?"

"Never mind that," Jiraiya said swiftly. "The Akatsuki, they're here!"

The third's eyes narrowed at this piece of information. If what he was saying was true, then they could only be here for one reason

"Naruto..." he growled as he began to take off his robe. They actually had the gall to come into his village? They'd pay the price.

Jiraiya raised a calm hand. "I can handle it. I'm just warning you, just in case something bad happens."

"Who is it?"

Jiraiya sighed. He knew that this was going to hurt the old man. "It's a sharingan user, so I'm sure you can put two and two together."

Sarutobi stared at the ground for a moment. He knew immediately who the man was talking about. The boy had been his most loyal shinobi after all.

"And who else?"

"Don't know," Jiraiya sighed as he replied, "but there's always two." He smiled as he saw the older man look worried. "Hey, if I need help I'll send Kōsuke. Just trust me. I got this covered.

The old man growled once more. "If that were true, then why are you sitting here!?"

Jiraiya gave his teacher the biggest grin he could manage. "Shadow clone!" And with that, the clone was replaced by smoke.

Hiruzen sat back in his chair after a moment to rest his old nerves. He cupped his hands together and rested his chin on them.

He knew Jiraiya could easily handle it, he just was concerned for the child's safety. He sighed and put his pipe in his mouth and lit it with a small flame Jutsu.

"Naruto... Don't die."

XxxoxxX

Sakura sat weeping on the ground, holding onto her dear Sasuke. She was in tears from the state the boy was of her teammates were currently unable to fight. Sasuke occasionally groaned in pain, while Naruto was pinned to a tree like some sort of decoration. She rocked Sasuke back and forth, trying to help ease his pain.

Sakura had never felt more useless in her life. She could only watch as her two teammates tried to not only win the match, but also protect her. The snake man, or Orochimaru, was leagues ahead of the group in every aspect. The two boys fought valiantly, but they only delayed the inevitable.

Sasuke began to groan louder in pain, shocking her out of her thoughts. She softly began to rock his head once more. "It's going to be alright, Sasuke-kun. I won't let anybody hurt you."

"Give me the boy."

Sakura flinched as she heard the voice. It sounded cold... colder than Sasuke's. She slowly turned around and looked at the source.

"Sa... Sasuke," she whispered, looking from the boy in her hands to the man standing in front of her. He closely resembled Sasuke, with more defined cheekbones. He stood with his eyes held shut, his face showing no emotion. The man wore a black cloak with red clouds. His left arm was rest on the unbuttoned portion of the cloak, which was midway.

"No." was the simple answer she was given. The man stepped towards her, slowly opening his eyes. His sharingan gazed lazily towards the girl. He glared as he got a good look at the child in her arms. "Little brother, you still don't hate enough."

"Little brother..." Sakura whispered in thought. She didn't remember Sasuke speaking about a sibling. If he was somebody close to the boy, then maybe he was there to help.

"Please! He needs help, immediately!" She said loudly. Sakura wiped the tears that were sliding down with one wrist while she cradled the boy in the other.

The man stared at the boy for a few seconds. Sakura almost began to speak again, but was cut off as another pair of footsteps landed behind the Uchiha.

The first thing that caught Sakura's attention was the man's skin. It was blue, something that made her think he was sick. His eyes were beady and it looked like he had gills on his face. His grin was full of sharp white teeth and his hair was blue. His clothing was the same as his partners, except he had a large bandaged item on his back.

The blue skinned figure grinned at the Uchiha. "Hey, Itachi, what's taking so long? You should've had the brat by now."

Sakura froze at the statement. Her blood ran cold as the name echoed in her head. There was only one Itachi that she knew of, and he sure was an Uchiha.

The same Uchiha that slaughtered his family in cold blood.

"Y-y-you're..." Sakura gripped Sasuke even tighter, pulling his face into her chest. Sasuke grimaced and his breathing quickened. Beads of sweat fell down his face as he held his eyes shut in pain.

"I'm not here for your beloved Sasuke," the man said as he walked past the two.

His partner chuckled. "That's your kid brother, eh? Have to say I see the resemblance."

Sakura shut her eyes in fear. Tears fell down her face as his sandals slowly clicked on the forest floor. Each slow step made her heart hammer even more.

She whipped around as she heard him stop. He was standing under the limp body of Naruto pinned to the tree.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered. Her body shook as tears streamed down her face. She wanted to help him, but what could she do? He killed all of the Uchiha alone!

Itachi looked up at Naruto. His bright orange clothing was a disgrace to all ninja. As he looked at his mop of blonde hair, it immediately made him think of the previous Hokage. The boys body was battered badly, and his eyes could see that something was interfering with his seal.

'He has whiskers? It seems the Fox has merged with his DNA.' He stared at the boy for a few more seconds, taking in every minute detail. The boy was rather bony, something that troubled him immensely. He should've been hailed as a hero, not a problem.

Ignoring that thought, the missing nin reached forward to grab the child. He ignored the sound of the pinkette screaming behind him. When his hand was an inch away, he froze.

Sakura looked at the man in confusion, as did his ally.

"Itachi, what's the mat- grgh! What the Hell?"

"Choji, it won't last long. Get Naruto!" Sakura glanced back towards the bushes that she heard the voices. She suddenly saw a large sphere burst through the trees and shoot at the Uchiha. When he struck him, the man burst into a flock of crows. The ball stopped changed courses and went straight for the grinning fish man. He crashed into him at a high speed, sending him flying backwards and into a tree.

As the momentum slowed down, Sakura smiled as she saw the grinning chubby face of one of her classmates.

"Ch-Choji!" Sakura yelled in relief. She wiped her tears with her left hand while her right still cradled the Uchiha. "I've never been so glad to see you!"

"Damn. We could've died just now." The lazy figure of Shikamaru walked out of the woods, accompanied by Ino. He gazed towards where the body of the blue shinobi was, noticing that it wasn't there.

"But we didn't. He ran off scared!" Ino yelled.

"Scared?" The group of four all looked in the direction of the voice and froze. Shikamaru gritted his teeth, while Ino and Choji looked terrified. The two shinobi were standing side by side without a single scratch. Itachi held his eyes closed with an impassive expression while his partner continued to smirk.

The sharp toothed shinobi grinned as he rubbed his nose. "Water clones sure come in handy, eh?"

Itachi ignored the man, choosing to end this little party. He opened his eyes and displayed his sharingan.

"Don't look in his eyes!" Shikamaru yelled while lowering his head. 'What a drag... We die before we even become Chunin.' He groaned once more. 'I knew I shouldn't have signed that damn application.'

"Kisame," Itachi said calmly as he glanced towards his partner. "Nobody dies here today. Got it?"

The fish man folded his arms. "Well, I guess that means you're doing all the fighting. I'm sorry, but I don't aim to maim."

Itachi nodded and turned back towards the group. This would only take a second, maybe two.

"Itachi Uchiha! Kisame Hoshigaki!"

The group of genin looked behind them, wondering if this new comer was a friend or a foe. They saw an old man with long white hair. He stood in front of Naruto, smiling at the ninja with his arms crossed across his chest. He had a large nose with warts and strange markings around his eyes.

The most weird thing about him were the two frogs perched on his shoulders. The two calmly gazed at the situation, taking every detail in.

He pointed a finger at the two missing shinobi. "It's your unlucky day!"

Itachi gazed at the newcomer. 'Jiraiya,' he thought. 'And he's already in sage mode. We may have to retreat.'

"I-Itachi…?"

Sakura jumped as she heard Sasuke mumbling. She turned to look at him and saw his eyes fluttering open.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" she whispered in curiosity.

Sasuke leaned his head forward and gazed at the surrounding shinobi. He could see most of his classmates around him. Before he could wonder what they were doing here, his eyes fell on a face that he hadn't seen in a long time, causing his eyes to widen. He grit his teeth and a gurgling growl escaped his throat.

"Itachi!"

All eyes fell on Sasuke as he struggled to his feet. He held one arm on his neck while he slowly took a step towards Itachi. A powerful wave of killing intent was flowing from him, making the surrounding genin nervous. The others looked unfazed.

Itachi closed his eyes. He could feel that something wasn't right with his brother. His chakra seemed erratic in a sense.

Sasuke kept slowly getting closer and closer to his brother. Jiraiya knew that he should get involved, but he glanced towards Kisame. The way the man was grinning at him, he knew that he was waiting on him to move. He wanted to get to Naruto as soon as possible it seemed.

Jiraiya was making a game plan in his head. His first objective was to recover the genin. In sage mode, he had plenty of power to create a number of clones. All he needed was the right sign, and he would make his move.

Sasuke was finally a few feet from Itachi. His face contorted in anger as he noticed his brother didn't even look at him. When the anger came, he could sense an unfamiliar power radiating through his form. He felt stronger, much stronger.

"Yes, Sasuke?" Itachi still held his eyes closed, not worried in the slightest. This only further aggravated the teen.

"I'm…" Sasuke balled his hands into fists at his side. When he stared at his brother, he could see everything that they went through. He remembered the training his brother gave him, and all the piggy back rides. He could see when he'd read him books at night and also the hunting trips they would make.

"I…" Sasuke reached a shaky hand into his kunai pouch. Images of the massacre began to replay in his head. The deaths of his uncles and cousins. His aunts and neighbors. His friends and neighbors.

His parents.

"I'll kill you!" A wave of power flooded out of Sasuke. Purple energy erupted from his being as he stabbed the kunai forth.

"Crap!" Jiraiya mumbled as he quickly went through hand signs. He saw Kisame running towards him with his sword drawn back to strike. The sage thrust his hand into the ground and a large cloud of smoke erupted, followed by the sound of metal hitting metal. As the smoke cleared, Kisame was seen in a test of strength with a toad a little shorter than him. The toad was a reddish brown tint with black lines going from above his eyes to the nub of his tail. The toad wore a camouflage jacket with a sword holster strapped to his back, which held the sword he was currently holding with his left hand. A shield was raised as well, which was blocking the large blade of Kisame.

The sword had a red handle with gold trimmings. The blade was long and thick, easily matching Kisame's strike.

The summon glanced at Jiraiya, whom was standing beside him. When he opened his mouth to speak, Jiraiya beat him to it.

"Listen, Gamaheishi." Jiraiya knew that this summon was about his business. When you were going to summon him, you needed to tell him ahead of time, in writing and person. The marine toad was all about promptness, something Jiraiya lacked. "Before you start croaking demands, I want you to look behind you."

The toad huffed. He was really tired of Jiraiya. The man had no sense of decency! He just called whenever he wanted!

The toad then noticed that Jiraiya was no longer beside him. In fact, from his peripheral vision he could see a couple of the old man running around.

But he knew that this was something serious. One look at the blade in his opponents hand told him that much.

Samehada was one of the Seven Swordsmen's Blades, the most dangerous in fact. It eats your chakra the longer you fight it and feeds it to its wielder, almost making them never tire.

The middle aged toad smirked. This was going to be fun.

Kisame chuckled. "Nice blade you got there. Can I have it?"

The toad narrowed his eyes, gripping the hilt tighter. "Negative, Maggot." The voice came out rough with a certain finality too it.

Kisame grinned as he applied more pressure to the blade. The toad matched his every move, keeping it at a deadlock.

"That's the Masamune, right?"

Gamaheishi ignored the missing nin. If he was asking, then he obviously already knew the answer.

"So the blonde?" the missing nin asked, changing the subject once more.. "Who's he too you?"

The toad didn't need to look behind him anymore. He already knew who was there.

And he already knew that he wasn't going to be harmed.

The toad pushed off of the blade, catching Kisame by surprise. The swordsman swung his bandaged blade at the toad once more, only for it to be blocked. The summon tried to counter attack, just for it too to be parried. The more this happened, the faster the battle became until there was a flurry of swings and parries.

The two jumped away as there was an explosion a few yards away. They both dashed in the opposite direction of the blast while still trading blows. When they reached a clearing in the woods, they jumped away once more. After the long exchange, neither seemed tired.

Kisame grinned as he rolled his neck and shoulders. "You know, I like you. I think I'll have to fight a little harder. Strictly sword play, no tricks. Are you in?"

The toad merely grunted. In his time, you never spoke to the enemy.

And with his partners son's life on the line, he would be damn if he lost to the enemy.

The two met up in the center again, exchanging blows quicker than before

XxxoxxX.

Minutes earlier…

Sasuke used all of his might, as well as some from his new source of power, to stab his brother in the abdomen. When he was a mere centimeters away, he stopped.

Itachi glanced down and sighed. Stopping Sasuke was not his doing at all. The boy simply didn't have it in him to stab his big brother. He would've let him do it. It is just a clone, after all..

"You are still too weak, Sasuke. Hate me." Itachi's eyes opened and his Sharingan stared back into Sasuke's.

XxxoxxX

Running.

That was all Sasuke could do. His little legs were pattering in the rain as he ran.

He didn't know why he was running. He just had this urge, and he couldn't stop it.

It was then that things began to get familiar.

Sasuke froze as he saw his brother standing in front of him. He had a blade to their mothers neck.

"N-neee-san, what are you d-"

SCHLIIIING

Sasuke's eyes widened as blood splattered on his face. His eyes were trained on the ground in shock.

And then his mothers head rolled into his view.

XxxoxxX

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!"Sasuke screamed, causing all wildlife to scatter. Sakura stared on in shock as the raven haired boy fell to the ground. The scream lasted for a total of four seconds, and then there was silence.

Itachi didn't have time to breath as he was suddenly being attacked.

Jiraiya was trying to land a hit on the Uchiha. Itachi was dodging and blocking with difficulty. Although he was good at taijutsu, his genjutsu was a specialty.

Jiraiya threw an enhanced kick which was blocked by Itachi. The missing nin grunted from the force of the kick and burst into crows a second later.

Everything was quiet on their end, save for the sound of blades clashing in the near distance.

"Can you find him Ma?"

The old female toad hmph'd at the question. "Is water wet?" She retorted as she opened her mouth wide. Her tongue slowly rose out of the maw. The tongue had eyes that were shut tight and a smiling mouth with razor sharp teeth. The more that it stretched out, the more bumps you could see littering the appendage.

After stretching out a few yards, the tongue paused and began to sniff.

"Found him!" Shima yelled. The tongue recoiled back like a whip and began to stretch towards a large tree. The tongue curled around the tree and began to release a green substance from all of the boils.

Itachi was already on the move. He jumped away from the pursuing tongue and continued to leap backwards. He couldn't help but noticed that the toxin was actually burning through the trees.

Before he could think any further on it, he immediately jumped again. To his surprise it was now a jet of water being shot at him now, courtesy of the other toad. When he moved the stream followed, nearly cutting his leg off.

As Itachi ran, he created a shadow clone. The two ran straight for Jiraiya, dodging the water with relative ease.

Jiraiya took this as his chance to join the fray once more. Both of the men went through seals. Luckily for Jiraiya, he finished first.

"Katon: Dai Endan!"

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"

When the two Jutsu connected, a large cloud of steam covered the area. Jiraiya kept his sage senses sharp, looking around for his opponent. He then heard a voice.

"I do not wish to fight you, Jiraiya-sama. This will be my retreat, for now."

With the last word, he could no longer sense Itachi. He looked to the left and could see that Gamaheishi was walking towards him, weapons still in hand.

Jiraiya grinned at the toad. "Thanks for your help, Gamaheishi. And you too, Ma, Pa."

Ma and Pa nodded in approval before dispersing. He called them right in the middle of dinner, so they were kind of grumpy at the moment.

Gamaheishi simply stared at Jiraiya. The old Sage was getting uncomfortable with the way the toad was glaring.

"Look, I'm sorry for calling you. I fully accept whatev-"

"Is that his child?"

Jiraiya froze at the question. He should've known that this was going to happen.

"Y-yeah… It is."

The toad turned away from Jiraiya, returning his weapons to their holders. "And why is this my first time meeting him, Grunt?"

Jiraiya began to sweat profusely. Whenever the toad called him Grunt, it was because he was angered. And he knew what an angered Gamaheishi could do.

"Well, it's just…"

"Save it." With those final words, the toad returned to his home land.

Jiraiya sighed. He knew that he had much explaining to do. But right now, his village was more important. In a dash of speed he took off back towards the village.

XxxoxxX

"It's no longer safe here for him." Jiraiya said sternly. He was sitting on the windowsill of his sensei. The two were having a heated debate about what to do for Naruto.

Jiraiya knew about the group that attacked. He just didn't expect them to come so soon. This really put a sting in his plans.

"They can find him anywhere they want." Hiruzen took a long pull from his pipe. He was so stressed out, no wonder there were so many wrinkles. "And I feel much more comfortable if I could watch him myself."

"They came straight in the village alone undetected. Imagine if I wasn't here? Naruto and maybe even Sasuke would've been dead."

Hiruzen hung his head. He knew he was right. The problem was that he couldn't let Naruto leave. Not yet, at least. When he was a stronger shinobi, sure, but right now he couldn't protect himself.

"Then maybe you can stay here? Protect your god child," he added with a soft voice. Jiraiya in the village would make everyone feel more safe.

Jiraiya shook his head. "I have to worry about the entire elemental countries, I can't just stay here." The two men were silent for a few seconds. Jiraiya suddenly had an idea. "What if..." he trailed off.

"Go on." Hiruzen looked at him interested. He paused from his pipe.

"I mean maybe he can train under my previous sensei..." Jiraiya said with a slight smile on his face while rubbing his chin.

Hiruzen looked at him confused. "I'm the Hokage, are you mad?" His voice showed a bit of irritation. "Where would I find time to train him? There's just too much paperwork."

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not you. I'm talking about... the turtle hermit."

Hiruzen stared at Jiraiya like he was from a different world. "The Turtle Hermit? Shouldn't he be dead? I mean, that would make him over a hundred."

Jiraiya grinned. "He is, actually. I don't know the details but he's kind of immortal. I have been training with him on and off since I was a child." Jiraiya's smile widened. "He's powerful... maybe even more so than you, no offense."

The Hokage glared at the smiling Jiraiya. "And what about him becoming a chunin?" he asked dangerously.

The Sannin raised his hands protectively. "I promise that he'll return for it! Stronger than before, might I add!"

Hiruzen slowly stood and walked to his window. He calmed his breathing as he stared. "Are you sure he'll take him in as a pupil? The legends say that he rarely takes in students." The Hokage quietly spoke.

Jiraiya's face twisted into a sick smile. "I have my ways..." he said. "Do I have your approval?"

Hiruzen sighed. Although he hated to admit it, this was a good idea. He nodded slightly, which was answered with a pop.

Hiruzen sighed. Of course he would send a shadow clone to do the talking. He must've expected a hostile rejection.

"Jiraiya... I hope you know what you're doing."

XxxoxxX

Helloooo! Thanks for reading the first chapter of this remake. My old story, the Z Shinobi was started when I wasn't that great of an author. Now I feel that I'm good enough to start over. There will be new scenes, more characters and character development, and better fight scenes. Thanks for bearing with me, I hope you enjoy the story!


	2. Friends?

Sad Departure

Jiraiya slowly weaved his way through the crowded streets of Konoha. This time he wasn't drunk, luckily. It was a good thing too, considering the size of the crowd.

He was amazed how many came this year to watch the exam. It was nearly double than the previous exam hosted in Konoha had.. Then again, everyone wanted to see how much the Uchiha kid grew.

Jiraiya was currently going to meet the blonde ninja named Naruto. He was impressed as he watched the kid beat the young Inuzuka. He wasn't very skilled, but he really knew how to think on his feet. Even he had to chuckle at the fart part, but he'd save the jokes for later.

Jiraiya was honestly impressed by some of the Konoha genin. Shikamaru would be a great general one day, Hell, he was smarter than his dad was at that age. He beat the sound girl with barely any problem. Everything seemed to go in his favor luckily.

The Aburame was a skilled tactician as well. Once he realized the sound kid sent sound waves from his hands, he clogged the two, causing a dangerous explosion to take him out.

Sasuke was on a whole different level. Even compared to other Uchiha he was quite talented at that age. Even with the strange seal bothering him, he somehow found a way to destroy his opponent. He was extremely ruthless, something that Jiraiya didn't like.

Both Hyūga were both strong fighters, but the princess needed the killer edge that her male counterpart contained. He was a little unsettled about the way the kid beat her, and his eyes twinkled as Naruto rushed in to her aid. His pledge to beat Neji only made him more interested in the boy.

Jiraiya hung his head low when thinking about the young student of Guy. He fought hard, but he just couldn't beat the sand ninja. Jiraiya was more than sure that he would have made quick work of any other genin. He was defeated mercilessly and Jiraiya could hear that some of his bones were crushed. The sand genin had an evil look in his eyes... and he looked angry that the fight was stopped. He'd have to keep his eyes on the young Jinchuuriki.

Jiraiya's train of thought was interrupted as he heard some ladies giggling. He looked up and saw that he was near the hot baths. His eyes were filled with lust as a creepy smiled filled his face. "Research is calling my name!"

Jiraiya nimbly jumped towards the bathhouse. He peeked around and made sure that no one was looking at him. He turned around and started peeking in through a hole he put in it a couple months ago. The Sannin giggled and drooled as he peeked.

"What are you doing, pervert!"

The voice caused Jiraiya to jump. He turned in embarrassment slowly. "Just a little research..." Jiraiya opened his eyes and saw a mop of blonde in front of him. The orange outfit that he wore clearly gave off who the kid was.

"Research my butt, you were peeking in on th- mmmph!" Jiraiya shot his hand forward and covered Naruto's mouth as people started looking at the duo. Jiraiya simply chuckled and waved nervously at the watching crowd.

Naruto then spit on his hand, causing the Sannin to quickly move it. "Do that again and I'll kick your ass!"

"Please, you couldn't land a single punch on me," the Sannin muttered.

The blond ninja growled at the remark. "I could too!" he argued.

Jiraiya pointed at Naruto with a scowl on his face. "Could not!" he yelled immaturely.

Naruto mimicked his stance and facial expression. "Could too!"

"Could not!"

"Could too!"

"Could-" Jiraiya hung his head in shame. Why was he arguing with a twelve year old? He stood up and stretched. He then folded his arms. Jiraiya flashed a toothy smile as he stared at the kid. "Prove it."

Naruto growled at the old geezer. He smirked and lowered himself. "I hope your fast, old man!" Naruto jumped at Jiraiya. When he was inches from landing his attack, the ninja moved to the left causing the boy to crash to the ground.

Jiraiya smirked. He turned to the boy. "Told ya," he joked with his arms still folded.

Naruto jumped up. "That was practice," he said whilst blushing. "Now I got you!" He ran at the man, but he yawned and kindly jumped over Naruto. Naruto swung too hard and lost his balance. He fell forward, and Jiraiya landed in front of him. He knelt towards him until there nose were nearly touching, ignoring the scowl being directed his way.

"Wanna get strong like me?" Jiraiya whispered in his ear cooly. He heard about Naruto's obsession with cool, strong Shinobi and... Hell he definitely fit the description. Well he was a total magnet for the ladies. And a writer of a best selling series. And don't mention the fact that he was a sage. That would make him much too cool. But then again, if you have the bosoms, don't hide them.

"Stop looking at me with that creepy face!"

Jiraiya's train of thought was interrupted by the sudden outburst. He opened his eyes (... when did they close?) he saw Naruto standing and pointing at him. His face looked angry, but his features softened slightly and a fire shone in his eyes. "But will you really teach me?"

Jiraiya approached the kid and ruffled his hair. "Of course! I'll make you the strongest Shinobi that ever existed!"

Naruto was filled with excitement. He grinned and looked up at the old figure. Jiraiya stared into the blue eyes of the young Shinobi. Looking into his eyes filled Jiraiya with a mix of emotions, ranging from sad to hurt. He also felt regret. A lot of regret.

"When do we start? Right now?" Naruto excitedly stared at Jiraiya with a wide grin on his face.

Jiraiya flicked his hand at the boy. "No, kid we leave in an hour. Go pack a light bag, only with the necessities." Jiraiya hopped on the roof of a building as he spoke. "Go speak to your friends. You won't be returning until it's time for the exam. While I have some research to do." Jiraiya hopped away from Naruto giggling like a school girl.

"Man... he is soooo cool!" Naruto said happily. "I have to tell Sakura and Sasuke!" With that, Naruto created a clone. "You, go pack!" he told him as he ran in the opposite direction.

XxxoxxX

Sakura and Ino sat on the edge of Team Seven's usual training field. The two for once weren't arguing, for they were much to focused on the activity going on in front of them.

They were watching Sasuke train. He was currently throwing kunai at targets spread across the field and hitting every mark. His Sharingan blazed wildly as he practiced, adding to his beauty.

Sakura sighed. All Sasuke ever did was train now. Getting beat so easily during the exams put a toll on his ego. Although he was fun to look at, she would like it if he put more time into team exercises.

"What's wrong Forehead?" Ino shoved Sakura's arm playfully. After their match in the exams, they chose to rekindle their childhood friendship.

"It's just," Sakura sighed again, " he's always in the zone. He doesn't speak to me anymore or anything. All he does is train."

Ino glanced at him with a smirk. "I don't know about you, but I could do this all day." As if on cue, Sasuke stopped training and removed his shirt, causing both girls to shriek. Sasuke glared at the girls, but his Sharingan and six pack abs was just too much for the duo. Both girls fell to the ground with hearts on their eyes.

Sasuke suddenly looked up from the girls, hearing movement in the trees. "What's the Dobe doing headed here?" Sasuke asked himself. He thought that Naruto was training with some Sensei he never heard of.

"Hey guys!" Naruto ran towards his companions waving. Sakura and Ino woke from their daze as they heard the loud boy.

"Hey Naruto!" Ino yelled as she waved. She actually liked the kid. He was nice, and their weren't much blondes that she knew so she felt he was like family.

"What do you want?" Sasuke spit at Naruto.

Naruto continued grinning. He hopped from foot to foot, looking very excited. "I have a new Sensei!" He yelled after trying to hold it in.

"Duh, I saw you with Ebisu-Sensei earlier," Sakura said in an annoyed tone.

Naruto rapidly shook his head. "Naw, he was weak. My new Sensei is way cooler." Naruto beamed widely, causing Ino to blush at his cute expression.

"Who is it?" Ino asked. Sasuke walked to were the girls were sitting and grabbed a water bottle. Although he wouldn't admit it, he wanted to hear as well. Both girls nearly had heart attacks as his sweat dripped. Kami must have blessed them as his sweat touched each girl on the cheek. They both fainted to the ground whilst sighing his name.

Naruto snickered for a few seconds, his eyes held shut. "His name is Jiraiya!"

Ino's face went from a smile to a look of shock. Sakura looked at him with disbelief, and Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Jiraiya the Sannin?" The two girls yelled as they sprung off the ground. Naruto nodded with his big goofy smile.

"That is soooooo cool Naruto!" Ino yelled. "Can you get his autograph for me? Tell him to come by the shop sometime! I promise to give him discounts!"

Naruto nodded. "I promise." He then turned to Sakura. The girl narrowed her eyes, already having a feeling of where this was going.

"I won't be back in a month." Naruto blushed slightly and pushed his fingers together, sort of like a certain Hyūga that they knew. "Would you…" He gulped, but decided to keep going. "Would you mind going on a date with me?"

Sakura looked at the boy with a disgusted frown plastered on her face. "I would never go on a date with you Naruto. I have my Sasuke." She turned away from Naruto and eyed 'her' Sasuke.

Naruto's mood dropped drastically. It felt like a stake was driven through his heart. He turned his gaze towards his rival and glared. Naruto walked up to the raven haired genin, his face looking determined. Sasuke watched each step that he made, getting more irritated with each click of his sandals.

When Naruto was a few feet away from him, he removed his shirt and threw it to the side. Naruto was rather skinny, not nearly as defined as Sasuke. His barely showing four pack was overshadowed by Sasuke's six abs. His arms were slimmer as well. A constant diet of dumpster food was to blame for this, he was sure.

Sasuke smirked at the kid. "You're finally coming out of the closet, huh?" he teased. The two girls giggled at the remark, causing Naruto to grow red in the face.

Naruto glared and pointed at Sasuke, stomping his left foot. "Shut it, cry baby!" Sasuke tensed as the boy called him that. Naruto flexed his right biced and grabbed it. "I'm just seeing how evenly matched we are. I promise that when I come back, I'll be stronger than you!" Naruto flexed his muscles to prove a point.

Sasuke growled. "You want to see how far behind you are, huh?" Sasuke leaned back to where his hair shadow was covering his eyes. He smiled wide, looking more like a wolf than a boy. " Come get your ass kicked." Sasuke slowly demanded while shutting off his Sharingan. He walked to the center of the training field with Naruto following.

Naruto lowered into a stance that was full of holes. Sasuke chose to entertain him for a while, not even getting into a stance.

"Who do you think's going to win?" Ino asked with a smile.

Sakura let loose a chuckle. "Is that even a question?"

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked with a smirk. Sasuke just gave him a hn, which Naruto took as a yes.

"Haaaa!" Naruto ran at Sasuke and attempted a salvo of strikes. Sasuke merely dodged them, not choosing to strike back. It was almost like they were dancing the way the Uchiha was moving around the blonde.

Naruto growled as he missed another strike. He knew that Sasuke was a little better than him, but this was just pathetic! The boy was dodging effortlessly and didn't even bother throwing his own strike.

"What's the matter?" Sasuke asked as he dodged another swing. He jumped back to avoid another flurry, smirking as Naruto growled again. "I would've had more of a challenge sparring with Sakura over there."

Naruto rushed Sasuke once more with a wide right, but Sasuke caught it, without even moving from his position. His eyes met Naruto's and he moved his head to the right, dodging another strike.

"My turn."

Naruto released a muffled cry as he was kneed in the abs. Sasuke let him rest on the knee for a second before pulling back. He smirked as the blonde stumbled forward and fell to his knees, heaving air.

Sakura and Ino sat shocked on the sidelines. They didn't think that Sasuke would be so cruel to a teammate!

The Uchiha turned to walk away. "Now you know were you stand, Dobe." He then began his walk away.

Naruto struggled to his feet, gripping his stomach. "I'm not finished yet you bastard," he responded. He wiped a trail of blood from his lips with his wrist.

Sasuke didn't bother turning around to look. "Your finished. There's no use in you still fighting, Naruto. I outclass you in every category."

Naruto grinned at the back of Sasuke's head. "Are you scared?" he asked. The way Sasuke tensed, he knew that he had him. "You know that I fought Orochimaru with no fear. Unlike you, you whiny little b-"

Naruto widened his eyes as his rival suddenly appeared in front of him, Sharingan spinning wildly. He felt his ramen from two days ago (his last meal now that he thought about it) turn as Sasuke punched him in the stomach once more. His jaw was clenched shut as Sasuke kicked him in the chin, sending him. Vaulting backwards. Before Naruto could prepare himself, Sasuke ran and grabbed him by his neck.

As Naruto stared into his eyes, he could see conflicted emotions. The boy looked angry, hurt, and sad at the same time. Naruto clawed at Sasuke to no avail, as the boy seemed to not feel it. It only caused the grip on his neck to tighten in intensity.

Sasuke reached back and punched Naruto in his face. He felt the boys neck tighten up, so he loosened his hold slightly to allow him to scream. He did it again and again, ruthlessly beating his teammate.

"S-Sasuke stop!" Sakura yelled as she saw her teammate brutally beating her other. She wanted to stop them, but she could see in Sasuke's eyes that he wasn't focused on anything but Naruto. Purple lightning phased around the duo lightly. Ino covered her ears and ran away after hearing Naruto yell out for the umpteenth time.

"Do you understand now, Naruto?" Sasuke yelled as he shoved the ninja to the ground. "You will never be as strong as me!" He kicked Naruto in the side, causing him to slide on the grass. "I am an Uchiha! The strongest of all clans!" Sasuke gripped Naruto by the neck and lifted him into the air again. Sasuke cocked a fist back. He let loose a mighty roar in tune with the lightning as he swung back at Naruto.

Sasuke was shocked as his fist stopped moving. He looked to the left and saw Naruto was gripping his fist with his hand. Naruto's hand shook as he held Sasuke's fist in place, a testament to the effort he was expending. He and Sasuke glared at each other, one face full of sadness, the other full of hate.

"What the..." Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes and froze. In place of the usual blue eyes, he saw a pair of red feline eyes staring back at him. His eyes were filled of water, yet Sasuke felt as if he were the one in danger. The ferocity of the boys expression was enough to scare a seasoned Jonin. A light cloak of red slowly crept around his figure, making Sasuke wonder if he had some special kekkei genkai. After a minute of silence, Naruto finally spoke.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked in a low whisper.

Both Sasuke and Sakura flinched as they heard a darker, deadlier tone over his voice. His eyes were full of tears as he stared into the eyes of Sasuke. It was almost as if Sasuke was looking past him.

Sasuke watched in amazement as he saw the wounds of Naruto slowly healing. The flesh sizzled slightly as they closed, leaving not even a scar. 'What the hell is he?' he silently wondered.

Sasuke slowly loosened his grip on Naruto, causing the blonde ninja to fall to the ground with a thud. Naruto gripped onto the grass and the red chakra dispersed as he gasped for air. Sasuke turned and swiftly walked away from Naruto, his eyes still spinning.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered. She looked between Naruto and Sasuke. Tears fell down her face as she watched the scene unfold. "S-Sasuke!" Sakura then took off running behind the raven haired Shinobi.

This stung Naruto. He felt his heart tear apart, and he also had a sudden revelation.

Sakura would never want him.

Naruto was left sitting alone in the middle of the training field, sobbing and coughing harder than ever. He was leaving and this is how his friends treat him? He cried and cried, not even realizing that his new Sensei sat in the tree and watched the scenario unfold. His heart was heavy as he sternly glared at his apprentice.

"Oh Naruto... Minato... I'm so sorry..."

XxxoxxX

Jiraya sat at the gates of Konoha. He was a few minutes early waiting for his new pupil. He watched a butterfly dance in the air as he waited.

The purple and blue insect was a beautiful rare breed indeed. He couldn't remember their name, but he knew that they were very protective of their young. Their saliva contains a poisonous mixture that stuns insects. The saliva touching a human would only result in a slight sting, as well as a temporary scar. It is believed that an individual stung between the eyes amass a great power. Coincidentally, he and his two former teammates each were stung in the spot when he accidentally knocked a tree down while training, disturbing a frenzy of sleeping parents.

"So, you're training Naruto?"

Jiraiya turned towards the familiar voice. He saw Kakashi Hatake looking at him with his hands in his pockets. Kakashi stared at the man with a lazy expression.

"Yep. You should be happy, you never seemed to care about him anyways."

Kakashi visually flinched. He looked to the ground as he thought about his Sensei.

"At least I was there for him."

It was Jiraiya's turn to flinch. He also looked to the ground in thought of his favorite student.

Kakashi sighed as he turned away from Jiraiya. He leaned to his left foot and glanced slightly over his shoulder. "Orochimaru did something to his seal, his chakra isn't flowing right. I'm sure that you can fix it."

Jiraiya nodded. "Will do. I'll see you in a month, Kakashi."

Kakashi simply jumped away, preferring not to respond. Jiraiya sighed. Would Kakashi ever accept him? The cold shoulder was really getting annoying. Especially since it was going

"Damn Kakashi... Always gotta ruin the mood..." Jiraiya grumbled as he glared to the side at nothing. He patted up and down his outfit. "Him and his lazy ..." Jiraiya brightened up as he felt what he was looking for. He smiled as he withdrew a small silver flask. The old man couldn't help but giggle as he clumsily unscrewed it. "But sake can always brighten it!"

Jiraiya paused as he saw Naruto approaching him with his travel pack on his back. He jumped, causing the flask to fly into the air. He panicked and tried to catch it, but it kept slipping. After a few seconds, he caught it and stuffed it in his pockets. "Heheh, sorry about that buddy."Jiraiya apologized nervously at his student. Naruto slowly trudged past him, as if Jiraiya wasn't even there.

"Well that's rude..." Jiraiya noticed that the boy seemed to be in a trance. His eyes were red and puffy, his steps slow and steady. "The hell is his pro-"

Jiraiya felt like slapping himself. He almost forgot about the encounter with Naruto's teammates.

Naruto stopped walking and slowly turned towards Jiraiya. "I'm ready when you are," he drawled out quietly.

Jiraiya sighed. He wasn't that good at cheering people up, unless it was a woman that needed to be taken care of. "I'm ready to go kid. Follow me." Jiraiya said as he took to the trees.

Naruto turned and looked at his hometown. He fixed his face into a determined expression. "You will acknowledge me..." He grumbled as he followed his teacher into the trees.

XxxoxxX

Well here's another, and so soon. I just was in the mood so I did it. But I have to give a shout out to Jackalope89 already for the advice. I will take it to the heart and try to make this a great story!


	3. What's a Hokage?

I don't own Naruto or Dragonball. Please don't sue me.

What's a Hokage?

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. It's ray's kissed the sands of a beach. Said beach was inhabited by a strange scene, one involving two shinobi.

"H-hey I got it!"

Naruto giggled as he flailed his arms for balance. He excitedly stared down towards his wobbly legs, praying that they didn't buckle. The blonde shinobi was standing up to his ankles in a large body of water.

The Sannin decided that in order to help the boy get stronger, he would teach him water walking. Well, initially it was tree walking but Kakashi beat him to it. Jiraiya was honestly amazed that he could even climb trees, considering the amount of chakra that was inside him even without the Kyuubi's help.

Jiraiya smiled brightly as he looked at his student. His wet jumpsuit was soaked, giving it a darker tint. He couldn't help but chuckle as the boys body vibrated with laughter.

"You got it my boy!" he yelled, cheering his young student on.

Naruto's fit of giggles continued as he flipped his wet hair out of his eyes. He lifted one foot off of the lake that he recently learned to stand on. He took a slow step forward, and slowly lowered it onto the surface. Quickly pulling back caused him to lose balance and his arms to flail. "Aww crap!" he yelled as he rocked. "No no no no no!"

'This is just great...' Jiraiya thought with a smile. He smirked as he watched the boy fall forward in the water, shouting obscenities. "Watch your mouth!" he yelled. "It's already water in there, you may as well add soap and wash it haha!" The old super pervert rolled on the ground in laughter, angering his student even more.

"You shut it, Pervy Sage!" Naruto yelled as he swam back to the shore. "I'm gonna be the best water walker ever!" He continued grumbling things which consisted of "dumb pervert" and "kick your ass" to the old ninja that was booming with laughter. Jiraiya finally stopped laughing and took a few seconds to catch his breath, ignoring the evil intent that the Jinchuuriki was sending his way.

Jiraiya crossed his arms across his chest and smiled at the boy. He shook his head as the boy shouted about being legendary and marrying some girl called Blossom... or was it Daisy..? It was of no importance in all honesty. He just hoped that it wasn't that pink haired harpy he was with a few days ago.

One thing that the Sennin learned in the days prior was that Naruto was actually a very quick learner. He expected for the boy to be stupid, as his files said. He realized that the boy wasn't dumb, he just learned more from experience than a book, sorta like himself; not to mention his other blonde student. "Naruto, if you don't learn this, you can't meet the super strong super cool teacher!"

Naruto stood on the sand and looked back at the water. He continued staring at the large body of vile liquid that dared defy him, getting angrier with each passing second. A low growl escaped his throat as he gritted his teeth.

Jiraiya noticed Naruto's annoyance. The kid had little to no patience! With this attitude, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to learn sage mode... but hey, they'll reach that obstacle when it came. In the meantime he would have to teach him to properly walk on the water. He started walking toward his gnarling student, still grinning. "Kid, your first problem is control-"

"The sea! The sea! We made it!"

Jiraiya turned towards the voice. He double took as he saw the sight before him. There stood a boy wearing a red gi. His hair was sticking out in every direction, with a thick bang poking out the front. On his back was a pole which felt familiar... he just couldn't put a name to it. The kid was chubby, however if you looked closely you could see that he was pretty muscular. He also had a tail... that was really odd. The oddest part about him, however, was the fact that he carried a large turtle on his back. Jiraiya was certain that he met the boy somewhere before, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Following closely behind was a blue haired girl on an odd object. It seemed to help her move without using her legs. 'At this age that could be convenient' he thought as he rubbed his sore back. Maybe the pretty lady will let him take it for a spin. A new character for his book slowly formed in his head. Ironically the character was blessed with hair that was a nice light blue hue.

Jiraiya was knocked out of his train of thought as he heard a splash into the water. He looked towards it and saw the turtle swimming away. The large animal paddled as fast as his old flippers could, which wasn't fast at all.

The sage turned towards his pupil and smirked. Naruto's face was twisted into a scowl as he glared at the scenario before him. Hell, he was surprised that the kid held his silence for this long.

Naruto visibly shook with anger. "Hey! You rude bastards are interrupting my training!" He stomped his chakra enhanced foot on the water, causing it to cascade into the air. This definitely caused all of the eyes to fall on him.

The Jinchuuriki smirked at the crowd. He shook the wet hair out of his face , causing Jiraiya to swiftly jump away with a look of disgust plastered on his face.

"Not cool man!" he yelled as he coughed. "It got in my mouth!"

The blue haired girl giggled at him. Naruto blushed as his blue eyes crossed hers of the same hue. He quickly turned away, turning the color of a tomato.

It was then that gravity chose to make it's appearance.

The water crashed back onto the boy. Naruto yelped as he was instantly submerged. The force knocked him backwards head first, causing his legs to be straight in the air.

A muffled chuckle could be head from the shore.

Naruto rolled in the water wildly until his head popped out. The boy had a star fish on each eye as he spit water out of his mouth. He shook the creatures off and began an angered swim back to the shore.

Jiraiya shook his head at the sight. The blonde walked out of the water and shook as much off as he could. Aggravation was clearly on his face, mixed with a bit of embarrassment.

The raven haired boy looked towards Naruto. His eyebrows were furrowed as he stared at the genin. He held a blank expression on his face.

The kid slowly walked up to the blonde genin. Naruto stared at the kid with confusion plastered on his face.

"Hey..." Everyone looked at the kid with awkward glances as he leaned into Naruto's face. Naruto leaned backwards, but the kid kept leaning forward until their noses were nearly touching.

Naruto growled as he leaned back. What was this kids problem? Sweat dripped from him, or maybe it was the water? Regardless, this was not the most comfortable position to be in.

After a long pause, the boy finally opened his mouth. "Are you a kitty?"

"..."

The tension seemed to rise as silence ensued. Each face displayed a different emotion; one of shock, one of curiosity, one trying to hold in a giggle, and one of straight evil intent.

Jiraiya had the evil intent.

"A... a kitty?" Naruto asked. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at the boy.

Jiraiya's face slowly twisted into a smile. From looking at this child, he could see that he was pretty strong. He also could sense the kids ki, and it was off the charts for his diminutive size.

He was going to provoke them. In the three days he knew Naruto, he was sure of one thing: it didn't take much to tick him off.

"Hey," Jiraiya giggled out, "he thinks you're a kitty hahaha!"

There was a visible tick on the blondes head. His face began to turn red, whether it was from anger or embarrassment was anyone's guess.

"Well now that you mention it..." the girl tapped a finger on her chin, eyeing Naruto more carefully, "he sure does resemble one." She blushed a deep crimson as she covered her mouth. "Those whiskers are cute though."

"Can I keep it Bulma? Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase?" he asked with a pout in his lip as he stared at the girl they now knew was named Bulma.

Naruto shook visibly. His face turned an even darker shade of red. 'Did... did she just call me cute?' he wondered as he ignored them arguing over owning him.

In an instant the boy was knelt in front of Naruto. Before anyone could even guess what was going to happen, he reached forward and did the unexpected.

He patted Naruto's crotch.

Twice.

Naruto violently shook with anger. Steam flew from his person as he growled deeper than should be humanly possible. The boy stood up and took a step back. "He's a boy kitty!" he yelled excitedly whilst jumping from foot to foot in a circle.

XxoxxX

Hiruzen was sat at his desk glaring at his pile of work that just seemed to be growing. It was amazing how the Fourth Hokage could finish his work so swiftly, why hadn't he mastered this yet? Then again, the man was possibly the quickest shinobi in existence so it shouldn't be much of a surprise.

He decided to do it later after being unable to think of an answer. He leaned back and lit his pipe with a small fire Jutsu. The Hokage took three slow pulls and exhaled.

He chuckled. It's a good thing Naruto wasn't here. He would've instantly been yelled at for wasting his chakra. The boy was merely jealous that he had yet to learn a fire Jutsu.

The Hokage sighed as he exhaled once more. He missed the runt. Although he wasn't supposed to pick favorites, the blonde was by far his favorite child in the entire village, excluding his grandson of course. He would love to hear his exuberant laugh, or even just hearing him yell at him.

"WHAAAAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Hokage jumped to his feet, knocking a lot of papers onto the floor. He looked in all directions and performed a Jutsu. He closed his eyes as he sent a wave of chakra through the city.

He relaxed as he realized that Naruto wasn't there. 'Must be finally going senile,' he chuckled. He exhaled and continued looking through the window. Maybe it was finally time to hand the reigns of Hokage to a younger individual.

In the next instant he heard a small patter on the floor. He turned slightly to greet his grandson Konohamoru. The boy nearly tripped over his large scarf as he stumbled into the office. The Hokage chuckled, causing the boy to blush.

"Don't laugh at me Old Man!" The toddler yelled. His face then transitioned from embarrassment to determined. "Did you just hear my rival scream?"

The Hokage flinched as he heard this. So he wasn't hearing things! This only brought more problems however. Where was the blonde and his student?

"Who could be strong enough to hurt him? He's way too strong!" The boys voice rose shakily as he yelled. Hiruzen could see tears threatening to fall from the boys eyes.

The old Hokage's mind filled with thoughts. Did they run into Orochimaru? Maybe the Akatsuki caught up to them? The more the old man thought, the more worried he became.

"Grandpa!"

Hiruzen was knocked out of his thoughts as his name was yelled. "Send me to get him! I'll kick the bad guys butt with my ultimate Jutsu!" The child began shadow boxing the air with his small hands.

The old man chuckled at the gesture. He was honestly amazed that the boy's stance was as good as it was. The style was still amateurish, but he could see that he was attempting an advanced form. Ironically, the only person in the village that knew the style was his only son.

"Konohamoru."

The boy stopped in the middle of a kick. He turned towards his grandfather, a bead of sweat hanging down his nose. "Yeah?"

Hiruzen sighed to himself. 'Kids these days are so disrespectful,' he thought as he cleared his throat. "Why do you want to be better than Naruto?"

"Ain't it obvious?" he asked with a grin while wiping a bead of sweat from his nose.

"No," the Kage replied with an amused tone. "If so, I wouldn't have asked."

"He wants to be Hokage," the child continued. "So do I. And I don't like sharin', so he can't have it."

Hiruzen felt a swell of pride in his abdomen. "And what do you think a Hokage does?"

The young Sautobi have him the biggest smile he could muster. "He kicks the other Kage's ass, duh-aurgh!"

The young boys screech was courtesy of a quicker than he could predict light tap from his grandfather. Well, to the Kage it was light. "Language."

"Grrr! Just tell me where my rival is!"

The Hokage sighed. He walked towards the boy and put a hand on his head, being answered with a scowl. "He's just training, he'll be back soon.

Konohamoru growled. "He can't train without me! I have to go get stronger to beat him when he comes!" The y dashed out of the office with a new resolve.

Hiruzen sat back at his desk. His mind raced over the many possibilities that could have happened to the blonde shinobi. After a few seconds of thought, he figured that there could only be one way to solve this.

"Boar." A masked figure appeared kneeling before the fourth. "Bring me Kakashi."

XxxoxxX

Naruto panted heavily as he stared at the boy. The kid continued dancing (which was merely him jumping from foot to foot waving in the air). The loud sound of Jiraiya's laughter only managed to raise the boys anger. Naruto crossed his fingers into his most known jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke a dozen Naruto clones appeared. They all stared angrily at the black haired kid, who stared at them in amazement.

"Wow!" he yelled. "Now there's more kitties! Can you teach me how to do that?" he stared wide eyed at the clones in what seemed to be a pleading look. The clones all snarled at the small kid.

The blue haired girl looked nervously at the clones. She backed her vehicle up as they all glared at her companion. "Goku, I don't think they're here to be your friends..." she said quietly. Of course she knew that the boy could fight, but this was thirteen enemies! Even Jackie Chung would have problems, or so she thought.

"I'm not a kitty!" All of the Naruto's yelled as they charged Goku.

"Whoa!" Goku ducked as he dodged a punch. He blocked a follow up punch with his right arm, as well as a kick from another clone with his left foot. He pushed off of the clones and back flipped as he dodged kunai. Two more Naruto's growled as they charged the boy.

Goku smiled as he lowered himself into a stance. "Oh you want to fight? I'm very strong!"

Naruto was angered by the boys calm nature. He acted as if he would win this fight!

"Shut up!" One of the clones came from the left and swung wildly, which was easily evaded by the boy. Goku swatted away another punch from a different clone. He ducked to dodge a kick, and sprung up off of his tail. While rising, he spun and laughed as he blocked numerous attacks from five Naruto's with his five limbs (tail included), each of them getting angrier by the second. After knocking aside another kick, the boy flipped onto the ground. A clone ran at Goku, aiming to harm the boy.

"My turn!" Goku yelled as he punched the clone in the chest. His eyes sprung open as he saw him burst into smoke. He looked from his hand and to the spot where the boy was just standing. "I didn't mean to kill it!" He said with fear in his voice. He looked towards Jiraiya. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't want to kill your-"

"Shut up!"

Goku released a yell as he was kicked in the back of his head. He fell onto his face and slid forward a few meters.

"Goku!" the blue haired girl yelled wide eyed as the boy tumbled forward. She covered her mouth as the clones surrounded her partner.

"Take this!" Four of the clones kicked the boy in the air. The real Naruto jumped above him and cocked his fist back. "My name is Naruto!" He yelled as he punched the boy to the ground. Goku fell with a thud, landing hard on his back and bouncing once from the impact.

Naruto breathed slow and deep as he stared at the boy. He couldn't help but smile, this was the first fight he ever won on his own. He hoped he hadn't kill the boy, he just wanted to send a message. He dispersed his clones. "One shinobi rule, never stop until you're opponent is finished!"

Jiraiya smiled at Naruto. Even though he knew the boy would be getting up in a second, it was still impressive. His student was in great need of taijutsu lessons; with the odds in his favor twelve to one, he still couldn't hit the kid.

"Ow!" Goku sat up and rubbed the back of his head, causing Naruto to flinch. "That really hurt! It's not nice to attack someone from behind!" He stood to his feet and bounced on his toes. The onlookers stared at him in disbelief as he started stretching. Jumping jacks and cherry pickers followed.

"Whew!" Goku bent his knees and bounced. He rose and lowered himself into his fighting stance. A smirk spread across his lips. "Now let's do this!"

Naruto growled. He lowered into a feral stance and ran at Goku. The boy ran back at Naruto in a much quicker fashion.

Naruto swung at the boy, but went over his head. Goku leaned up and punched him twice in the stomach, granting him a groan from the blonde. Goku quickly went on the offensive and sent a flurry of kicks and punches at the young Jinchuuriki. Naruto growled as he was assaulted; the pain was much more than he expected. He had to think of something fast!

Goku jumped away from Naruto. Naruto braced himself for another attack, but was surprised when he didn't get hit. He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised at the sight.

The boy was stood a few feet away from him with his arms firmly to the side. He looked at Naruto with a steeled expression.

"I don't wanna hurt you anymore."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in amusement. 'A strong fighter that shows mercy,' he thought, 'that's not something you see everyday.'

Naruto clenched his fists, ignoring the blood leaking from them, courtesy of his sharpening nails. His hair covered his eyes as he held his breath.

Bulma bit the tip of her finger nervously. She could see that the blonde was only getting angrier with each word that her new companion spoke.

"Uhhhh, Goku?"

The red clothed fighter glanced towards her. "Yeah Bulma?"

The girl glanced back towards the blonde and noticed him shaking. "Maybe we should get out of here…"

The kid cocked his head like a puppy. "Why?"

Bulma nervously looked between the two figures. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because your going to get us KILLED!"

Goku crossed his arms. "No we're not. I just said the fight was over, so it's over."

Jiraiya smirked as his pupil began emitting intense killing intent. He could feel it in waves, and if he were to bet than he'd say that he had help from a demonic being.

"Don't act like you're better than me! I'm gonna be Hokage!"

Goku stared at Naruto curiously. He tilted his head to the right. "What's a Hokage? Is it some kind of fish?" Goku startled jumping excitedly and giggling. "If you become Hokage, I promise I won't eat you!"

He then stopped jumping and innocently put his finger on his chin "Umm... unless I'm really hungry."

"No it's not a freaking fish!" Naruto yelled whilst pointing at the boy. "It's the strongest ninja in the village!"

Goku smiled at him. "Really? My grandpa must be a Hokage. He was really strong!"

A large vein appeared on Naruto's head. "Who said this match was over?" A sly smirk crossed his face. "I haven't even used my strongest Jutsu!"

"Jutsu?" Goku asked curiously. "What's that?"

'The gaki has an ultimate Jutsu?' thought the Sannin with a look of interest in his eye. He subconsciously leaned forward to get a better look.

Naruto growled at the boy's stupidity. Was he born under a rock? Instead of answering, the blonde decided to show him. "Oiroke no Jutsu!"

In a burst of smoke, the beach was covered in well over one hundred clones- well clones wouldn't be the best way to put it. Surrounding the small boy were girls that favored the blonde. They each had matching whiskers, but their hair was in ponytails. Another striking feature was their nudity. They were completely naked, their private parts being barely covered by smoke.

"Whaaaaa!" Jiraiya was knocked back by a jet of blood shooting out of his nose. He lay on the ground unconscious, twitching from time to time.

"You pervert!" a blushing Bulma yelled as she saw the nude females surrounding her partner.

Goku looked at the girls and a bright smiled covered his face. "Now I have a lot of kitties!" he yelled, causing all of the girls to halt. He knelt low and did the unthinkable.

He patted one's crotch.

Twice.

All of the clones dispersed as Naruto let loose a scream that was easily louder than the first, considering it was with female vocal cords. He quickly reverted to a boy and fell to his knees. Tears welled at the corner of his eyes. The young genin had never felt so violated in his life.

Goku's face showed a look of despair. "Where did they go?" he asked himself as he looked around, even going as far to sticking his head under water to search.

Naruto stared at the sand under him. His mind wandered from being sad to humiliated, not to mention that there was a pretty girl nearby. He wanted to just disappear like the Fourth Hokage was made famous for. He didn't even notice the girl walking up to him, or even when she was standing over him.

"Mmm mm!" Bulma cleared her throat for the genin's attention. Naruto looked up and blushed as he saw the her in front of him.

Naruto was not good at making friends, let alone talking to females. The one he saw the most mainly abused him with every chance she received. He stared at the girl with a dumbfounded expression.

Bulma stared at the boy. She waited a few seconds to see if he would speak, and glared when he didn't. Her face twisted into an angry scowl. "Don't you know to greet a pretty girl when you see her!" This caused Naruto to flinch, he didn't expect her to yell at him... but then again he should be used to it.

"I-well-urgh!" Naruto jumped to his feet and turned away as his face burned brightly. He quickly inhaled and exhaled to regain the color in his face.

Bulma stared at the kid in amusement. That isn't weird at all... she thought. The kid suddenly turned around. A large goofy grin was plastered to his noticeably pink cheeks.

"M-m-my name's Naruto Uzumaki!" he scratched the back of his head as he spoke. Naruto mentally cursed himself for stuttering in front of the pretty girl.

Bulma giggled at the blondes stutter. "I'm Bulma Briefs." She held out a hand for the still sitting ninja too take. Naruto looked from the hand towards the girls face a few times. He reached up and grabbed the hand which he noticed was extremely soft.

"Briefs? Huh, these kids just got more interesting." Jiraiya mumbled to himself. He was recovering from the ultimate jutsu, which he must admit was pretty dangerous. He was ashamed to admit that a mere genin had a technique that could defeat him in a second.

The sage slowly sat up and looked towards his pupil and the girl. He noticed the other kid was having the time of his life making sandcastles, laughing like he was insane. His care free attitude caused a grin to spread on his face.

"Naruto huh?" the girl asked. "That's a nice name!" she said with a small smile, causing the blonde to blush. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Konoha." the still blushing preteen responded, causing a gasp from Bulma.

"You're a shinobi?" she asked, well more like shrieked.

Naruto panicked inwardly. He couldn't lose this girl, it was his first chance at making a friend! "I- I-I!" Curse that damn stutter!

"Hey, look!"

Everyone was knocked out of their train of thought as they heard Goku yelling. He was pointing towards the water where a figure was slowly approaching.

Jiraiya instantly looked at the body of water and couldn't hold back his smile. He instantly recognized the figure on the back of the turtle. The man wore a large orange beach shirt with black random letters on it, as well as some too short for comfort shorts. He wore flip flops as well and was holding a thick looking stick in his hand. He was a bald old man, with a thick white mustache. On his back was a large turtle shell.

As the man neared the beach, he couldn't help but smirk at the looks the group was giving him. 'That's right, admire me.' he thought. 'I'm the coolest!'

The old man jumped onto the beach, which granted him an odd stare from everyone except the Sannin. He stood silently and basked in the attention being directed towards him.

"Which one of you helped out my turtle?" he asked the trio of kids. Naruto's face scrunched into an angry scowl. The man's voice was high and scratchy which pained his ears. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like this guy.

"Who are you, Grandpa?" Goku asked with wide eyes.

"I am Master Roshi!" the man said in a voice so cocky that it made Pervy Sage sound like a wimp. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by a young loud mouthed ninja.

"Who cares who you are!" Naruto yelled whilst pointing at the old man. "We didn't even ask!"

Bulma and Roshi face palmed, causing a giggle from Goku. Jiraiya even caught himself laughing at the blonde's dumb remark.

"You Baka!" he yelled while laughing his loud, arrogant laugh. Naruto looked around as his face turned a deep crimson. This only caused Jiraiya to laugh harder, which the old turtle hermit didn't like very much.

He turned to Jiraiya, whom he just noticed was there. As he looked at the man he started stroking his beard. Something about the man was familiar, whether it was the cocky attitude or the confident smirk that he was receiving, he wasn't sure.

Jiraiya smiled at the old man. "Finally recognize me, eh master?" he replied in his cool voice. He walked up to the man and stopped in front of him. "It's been a while."

Roshi stared at the man for a few long seconds. He finally started laughing in his creepy old man laugh. "Hahaha Jiraiya my boy! How's it goin?"

"I'm OK, you know can't complain too much being a legendary ninja and a world renown auth- Ow!" Jiraiya released a pained yell as he was clonked in the head by Roshi's stick. He rubbed the sore spot which already sprouted a knot. "The hell was that for?"

"Just to make sure it wasn't one of your stupid clone's."

"Hey, sensei!" Jiraiya looked at Naruto with an expression showing both annoyance and pain. "Kick his ass! You're a Sannin for Kami sake!"

Goku started jumping up and down excitedly. "A fight? Oh boy!"

Master Roshi turned his back on Jiraiya and faced his turtle. "Which one helped you?" he asked, completely ignoring the young boy's request.

The turtle pointed his flipper at Goku. "That boy!"

"I see, I see!" The old man turned and faced Goku. "Allow me to commend you for your hard work. I have a wonderful present to give you as thanks!"

The word present caught the attention of both of the young boys. "Present?" they asked in unison.

"Yes!" the old man shouted in irritation. "Nimbus!" he yelled into the air.

Naruto looked into the air. Although he didn't pay much attention in class, he did remember hearing Shikamaru mention the word nimbus while they were 'studying the sky'. He flinched as he saw a small golden cloud come bolting towards him. Goku let out a scream while Bulma eeped. The cloud came to a halt directly in front of the small semi circle.

Jiraiya looked at the old man with a shocked expression. "You're giving away the Nimbus?" His smile slowly twisted into a smirk. "You must really be getting old. Immortality isn't what it's hyped up to be, huh?"

A large vein bulged out of the old man's head. "I am not old!" he yelled while flailing his arms about. "I am a hip fella that the ladies can't resist!"

"Hah!" Jiraiya laughed at Roshi. "You must mistake yourself for me!"

"In your dreams you old frog!" Roshi yelled while shaking a fist at Jiraiya.

"You couldn't hope to keep up you perverted old turtle!" Jiraiya yelled while mocking his movements.

Bulma sighed as the old men argued. "Guys, he's eating the cloud."

Both men simultaneously turned towards Goku. They were both amazed and disgusted that the boy had half of the golden cloud in his mouth. "Get my precious cloud out of your mouth!"

Goku coughed the cloud up. He held his tongue out of his mouth and wiped it vigorously. "Not to be mean, mister, but that present wasn't really good."

Roshi's face was red with anger. "This is a very valuable cloud that can fly you anywhere in the sky!"

Naruto folded his arms across his chest. "Why the hell would a turtle master deal with clouds?" he asked with a scowl.

"Ignore the detail's, kid," Jiraiya said in a deep tone.

The child called Goku's face lit up. "Wow, I can fly in the sky?" he asked with excitement.

Roshi gave a cocky grin. 'Oh yea, I'm cool!' He thought as the small child smiled. "Amazing, right?" he held up a finger. "But there's one catch- only those with a pure heart can ride Nimbus! So if you aren't a good boy, you won't be able to!"

The hermit turned towards the cloud and jumped.

'Idiot,' the Sannin thought as he watched the man fall hard on his rump and let loose a shriek. Upon impact, Naruto let loose a whooping laugh, which was quickly followed by Bulma. They laughed even harder as the turtle tried to lift him to his feet. They didn't even realize the black haired boy had jump upon the golden cloud.

"Yaay!" Goku yelled as he jumped up and down upon it. He suddenly bolted forward and flew in loop-DE-loops.

"Hey, no fair! I want one!" Naruto yelled at the old man.

"Sorry, but I don't do anything for you if you don't do for me." Roshi never took his eyes off the boy twirling in the air, instantly admiring the skill the boy held with the cloud.

"Well what about me?" Bulma exclaimed. "I helped him get here too!"

"Is this true?" Roshi asked his turtle. The turtle quickly shook his head.

"I gave you saltwater you slimy rock!" Bulma yelled at him. The sea creature hid behind his master, poking his head out at her with his tongue out.

Master Roshi gave her a very... creepy smile. His cheeks stained a bright pink, and Jiraiya instantly recognized the look and rolled his eyes. "I'll give you something else if you show me your panties..." he giggled the last few words out.

Bulma shrieked as she looked at the old man. "M-my panties?" she muttered.

Naruto jerked back. "What!" he yelled as he blushed a deep crimson. He felt his face getting hotter with each passing second.

Turtle was not very fond of this idea. He turned to Roshi with a shocked expression. "You're a Sannin!" he yelled. "Now I know why the Nimbus rejected you!"

"Silence!" Roshi hissed. Bulma blushed a red that would make a tomato jealous. She moved from foot to foot nervously. "Well... if you just want to see my panties..." She slowly grabbed onto her shirt and started to lift it.

'Holy crap, she's going to do it!' Jiraiya couldn't help but stare at the blue haired teen. He pulled out a pad and a pen, prepared to scribble every detail.

Naruto growled as he shook with both embarrassment and anger. He couldn't let this girl entertain these pervs! He quickly came to a conclusion of what to do..

"Oiroke no Jutsu!"

"No!" Jiraiya yelled with his eyes wide. He tried to close his eyes, but it was too late. The beach was quickly flooded with smoke.

"AAAGHHH!" The smoke cleared to reveal two twitching unconscious Sannin. The girls disappeared not long after their emergence since Naruto was low on chakra. He fell to the ground along with them, panting and giggling tiredly.

Bulma walked up to the twitching hermit. "You pervert!" she yelled, but her only response was a mixture between a giggle and a gurgle. Bulma smiled as she saw the gold pendant around the perverts neck. She lifted it up and smiled. "Can we please have this?" she asked the man.

"You can have whatever you want..." he replied goofy, barely containing his giggle.

Bulma smiled and lifted it from around his neck. She stood back up and waved it in the air. "Hey Goku, I gotta Dragonball!" she yelled.

"Yaay!" Goku yelled as he twirled in the air. He then stopped and rubbed his growling belly. "Can we go now? I'm hungry!"

Bulma giggled. "Of course we can." She turned towards the two old men that were currently trying to sit up (and failing miserably at it). "Later! And thanks a lot for the Dragonball!" She hopped on her motor scooter and started it's engine. She looked back at Naruto, whom was still laying on the ground. "Hey kid, wanna come?" she asked.

Naruto quickly sprung to his feet. His body felt much better and he could finally move. "You bet I will! I still gotta kick the monkey boy's ass!" Naruto ran towards the girl and then stopped. He looked back at Jiraiya and smirked. "I'll be back old man, then you have to teach me that jutsu like you promised!"

"Yea whatever..." Jiraiya grumbled as he wiped his red stained face with his sleeve.

"Dattebayo!" The orange clad ninja shouted as he jumped in the air, causing Bulma to giggle.

"Don't yell that the entire trip!" she laughed out as she sped up with Naruto running a few feet behind her.

Goku looked back and saw Naruto following him. His face spread into a wide smile. "Hey, the kitty is coming!"

"I'm not a kitty!"

XxxoxxX

Another one. I hope you guys liked. Remember, read and review if you have the time. Tell me what you like, and not so much. I'm having fun writing this, so I hope you guys enjoy reading!


	4. The Prophecy

The Prophecy

A figure walked slowly down the streets of Konoha. The man was none other than Kakashi Hatake. This shinobi was one of the best in the Hidden Leaf.

Kakashi wasn't what one would expect from an elite shinobi. The man was lazy and seemed to never be paying attention. When he did speak, it was usually in an over the top relaxed tone, one which got him into as much trouble as it got him out of.

"Yo, Kakashi!"

The silver haired shinobi glanced from his book in time to see a green clad shinobi land in front of him. The man wore orange leg warmers and a green body fitting shinobi armor.

"Guy," Kakashi said nonchalantly while turning a page. He continued walking past the smiling Jonin.

"Stop being so cool!" the other man shouted as he jumped at his rival. He jumped to aim a kick at his head.

"A penny." Kakashi bent down to pick up the currency, causing the other shinobi to fly over his head. The man released a startled cry as he hit a wall. The structure threatened to fall until the white haired man pushed a single board with a finger, instantly straightening the building yet still not glancing up from his book.

Guy pulled himself from the rubble with a large smile. "How youthful of you, to dodge my attack without warning! You are certainly worthy of being my rival!"

After a few seconds of no response, the Copy Cat shinobi glanced up towards his friend. "Did you say something?"

Guys face began to turn red from frustration. "Always so cool!" he shouted. He then stood with his arms folded across his chest. "But on a more serious note, I have a proposal for you."

The masked shinobi cocked his head to the side, beckoning the man to continue. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to pit your students against mine! We can then see whose seeds of youth have grown stronger!"H

Kakashi seemed to think about the proposal. He saw how Guy's students Lee and Tenten were beaten in the first fights. Although they were outmatched against the sand shinobi, they could have easily beaten anyone on his team. This was something he hated to admit, even in his mind.

"I'm not so sure about that." Kakashi held in his smile at the defeated look that crossed Guy's face. "Neji faces Naruto next, and possibly Sasuke later on. It would allow them to learn moves from the other, moved that I am actually saving as a trump card."

Guy nodded his head in understanding. "I see. In all honesty I was curious to see how the my star Neji stands up to your Sasuke."

Kakashi raised a brow at that. "Oh? And why would that be?"

The green clad shinobi's face changed into a more serious expression. "I heard a prophecy, one which included an Uchiha and a Hyūga." This caught Kakashi's attention, causing the book to fall lower from his field of vision. "It is said that the two will have a great battle. The battle will began with them against each other, and then they will team up and defeat another group of characters." The man paused for a moment as if trying to find his words. "This battle will have a great effect on the future of our world."

Kakashi soaked in everything he was being told. At the end of the story, he decided to ask a question. "And who did you hear this from, exactly?"

"The turtle sage."

The Hatake nodded. He should've known. It is not uncommon for the older summons to have future seeing powers. "And what makes you think that this is Sasuke and Neji?"

Guy cringed at the question. "Well, I'm not sure. But in my defense, who else could it be? Itachi would make short work of any other Hyūga, and the only one that is on nearly equal ground is the young master Neji!"

He had a point there. The masked shinobi's eyes went back onto the book in his hand. "Well, I'm running rather late for a meeting with the boss. I'll see you around.

Guy began to speak, but was shut up by a pop. Where Kakashi once stood was now a small cloud of smoke. The Might warrior began to cry profusely as the smoke began to clear.

"So…. Cooooool!"

XxxoxxXp

"You called, Hokage?" Kakashi asked as he walked into the Hokage's office. He didn't even glance at the old man, his eye was focused on his favorite orange book. He casually stopped mere inches from the desk.

Hiruzen was standing at the window of his office. He knew that Kakashi didn't care much for Naruto (he heard the boy mention it to him on numerous occasions), but he was still his instructor. He didn't even glance back as the man spoke. "It's about Naruto. It's extremely urgent."

"Is it about Jiraiya training him? I was informed about it already, I'm fine with it." The Third Hokage noticed the way the man spat Jiraiya's name, but decided to hold it to himself for the time being. "Besides, I wouldn't have had much time anyway. I'm teaching Sasuke to master the Sharingan."

"It isn't about that." The old man said with a strong voice. "Do you recall hearing anything unusual today?"

Kakashi thought for a few seconds, but couldn't think of anything. Well, there was a whole prophecy that he recently learned about but... "Not that I can recall."

The Third exhaled. He nearly forgot who he was talking to. If it wasn't reading amazing works of literature or torturing genin, it would go right by Kakashi. His carefree nature was almost dangerous, considering he was an A ranked ninja. "Today... I heard a yell that was unmistakably the boy's."

Kakashi finally looked up from his reading.

"Surely, you must be hearing things. I know the speed that the old man travels by, and even at a slow pace then they would be out of range." Kakashi looked back towards his book. "He's fine, I'm sure of it."

The old village leader turned and faced Kakashi. He tried his hardest to maintain his calm. "I understand how you feel about Jiraiya, but what about... his son?"

Kakashi flinched. He closed his only revealed eye and slid his book into his pocket. The young man breathed deeply as he thought about his old sensei. Every time he saw Naruto it filled him with a feeling he couldn't explain. It was a mix of pain, regret, and failure. The boy looked nearly identical to his sensei and acted like his wife to boot.

"I'm sorry sir, but as much as I would like to help locate the duo, I'm simply not the right person for the job." He ignored the pained look he was given and continued to speak. " Maybe you should ask Kurenai, her tracking team would be the perfect choice for this." Kakashi ended his speech with a much softer tone.

Hiruzen almost felt bad for bringing up the subject of his successor. This was a sore topic for both men as they each idolized him. While he taught the man skills that helped him become the shinobi he was, the man actually taught Kakashi in much the same way.

There was something that annoyed him much, however. It angered him slightly that Kakashi would reject his teachers child in favor of the more talented Uchiha. He chose to let the anger rest, however.

"Very well, send me Kurenai at once."

XxxoxxX

Naruto had to say that his time with the duo of Goku and Bulma was... amusing.

First, they went to the girls house. Once in the house, Naruto was shocked as the girl started yelling about her panties. The boy Goku mentioned something about her not having balls and the next thing Naruto knew the girl was holding a contraption that he later learned was called a gun. Amazingly after an onslaught of small metal projectiles, Goku only suffered holes in his shirt.

After everything mellowed out, the girl placed her house into a small 'capsule'. Naruto was beyond shocked at this and made her open the capsule again to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Not long after the kids arrived at a village that seemed abandoned, yet they learned that everyone was hiding from some monstrosity called Oolong. After some talking to a villager (whom struck Goku on the head in fear), Bulma agreed that they would get rid of Oolong, but only in exchange for the Dragon Ball in an elderly woman's possession. And now Naruto and Goku stood dressed up as girls in the center of the town, being drooled over by a large pig faced being with horns.

"Wow, you ladies sure are hot!" the demon said. "Two for the price of one, and they both are pretty. Man, is it my lucky day or what?"

"Yes, just take us already!" Naruto said in his best girl voice, which wasn't that good. His butt was really starting to itch under this hideous pink dress. He looked over to the side and saw Goku trembling. "Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto whispered loudly.

"I gotta pee!" Goku whispered back, whilst jumping from foot to foot.

"I know! You're afraid of the way I look, aren't you?" The two boy's in disguise ignored the 'demon' as he burst into a large cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared there stood a man in a large trench coat and a cane tucked under his left arm, with a large top hat in his left hand. He leaned into a bow. "How about this my lady? Or would you prefer a younger man?" The man was thrust to the ground as the door he was standing in front of burst open.

"N-nice to meet you! I'm Bulma!" The blue haired girl stood at the door staring at the man.

Oolong stared at the girl with his jaw hanging. His eyes instantly went to her breast. "What size is your-oof!" he was cut off as a foot connected to his jaw. The man was sent tumbling backwards and landed with a thud a few feet away.

"What the HFIL?" Bulma yelled. "There was a perfectly good boyfriend for me and you ruined it Naruto!"

Naruto growled as he threw off his dress, his face a bright shade of red. Goku quickly followed suit and ran to a tree behind them to relieve himself.

"Don't get all googly eyed over him!" the Jinchuuriki shouted. "He's the enemy!"

Bulma growled and yelled with an apparent rage. "My one reason for collecting the Dragon Balls were for a hot boyfriend! I could have saved my wish to be rich instead!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the bluenette. "You already are rich! Why not wish for global peace or something?"

It was Bulma's turn to narrow her eyes. "Because then you Barbaric shinobi would be out of a job then, wouldn't you?"

As the two argued, they didn't notice the transformed man slowly rising to his feet, a scowl spread across his face. "Hey, are you telling me that... those girls... weren't girls?" he asked as he saw the two boys, one pulling up his pants and the other rubbing his head where the girl just struck him.

"You think you can make a fool of me?" the man yelled, finally gaining the groups attention. "I'll teach you all to mess with me!" A loud 'poof' was heard as the man transformed into a large bull, causing a shriek from Bulma, a scowl from Naruto, and a smirk from Goku.

"Can I beat him up now?" Goku asked as he placed a hand on his pole. He lowered into a fighting stance, his smirk widening.

"Do what you want, he's nothing to me!" Bulma yelled as she ran into the house she recently exited.

The bull seemed to be nervous. He kicked up dust with his right hoove. "You sure you wanna fight me?" he asked with a smirk.

"Bring it on!" Goku bounced in excitement, a small giggle escaping him.

The bull started sweating profusely and looking at the two boys. "B-but I'm really strong!" he yelled in an attempt to seem scary. "The two of you have no chance, don't you know that?"

A large grin spread on Naruto's face. "Is that so?" He crossed his fingers and a large cloud of smoke ensued the village. From the smoke his voice could be heard. "Then what about two hundred?" There was literally a clone in every street of the town, even some standing on buildings.

The bull-man-pig was blanketed in sweat as he saw the numerous boys. He could only mutter two words as the boys all jumped at him. "Aw crap..."

XxxoxxX

Sakura was sitting in the flower shop with her friend Ino. After the girls match in the Chunin exams, they were much closer than they were before. Ino's father invited Sakura over for dinner and after a tense start, they both realized they were acting rather childish about Sasuke. They would either spend their days at the flower shop, or at the hospital with Rock Lee.

Lately, however, Sasuke really avoided the pink haired genin. Of course they weren't that close to start with, but now he went out of his way to avoid her. She remembered the last time she tried to speak to him.

Flashback:

Sakura went to her teams training grounds. She knew that she'd run into Sasuke here, and the sound of steel hitting steel proved that she was right. As she got closer, she straightened her hair even more.

Sakura was carrying a basket full of food that she personally prepared for her crush. Now that the dobe was out of the way, there was no one to interrupt her time alone with him. She was waiting for this opportunity ever since her team was assembled, and she wasn't going to let it past.

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as she entered the training field dubbed Training Area 7. She saw the raven haired boy was shirtless and it took all of her will power to not pass out from excitement.

Sasuke didn't turn to look at Sakura. His hair fell over his eyes, but he continued to stare forward. "What do you want?" he asked in his cold voice.

'He's talking to me!' The girl thought as her heart fluttered. Ever since his last encounter with Naruto, Sasuke would brush her off and walk past her as if she didn't exist. Maybe he was finally ready to express his feelings for her!

"I brought you some food!" she smiled and continued walking towards the boy. "It's dango, I hope you like it!" she giggled. "I remember when Kakashi took us to eat one time and you almost ate more than Naru-"

Sakura froze as Sasuke turned to her. His Sharingan was spinning and it scared her a lot. She shook visibly as he opened his mouth. After a few seconds he finally muttered some words.

"You're so... annoying."

End Flashback

"Hellooooooooooo earth to Sakura!"

Sakura realized that Ino was waving a hand in her face. She realized that she must've doze off for a second. Ino pouted at her. "You really didn't hear anything that I said?"

"No, I'm sorry Ino." Sakura blushed. "What were you talking about again?"

Ino sighed. "The one time I said something that I would think you would approve of, you make me have to repeat myself." She then smiled. "But, I said I was over Sasuke."

Sakura eye's got wide as she heard this statement. "Are you serious? How? When? WHY?"

Ino giggled. "Slow down, slow down!" she said as she rose her hands defensively. She then crossed her arms across her chest. "But to answer each question; yes I'm serious. After seeing the way he..." Ino's face twisted into one of both disgust and pain, "assaulted Naruto, I realized that he wasn't as perfect as I thought him to be." The blonde's voice began to rise, sounding panicked. " What if one day it's ME that he decides to attack? I definitely can't take a beating like that, and I don't even know how Naruto survived it. And besides." Ino shrugged. "Naruto's much cuter when you think about it."

Sakura's blush intensified as Ino finished her statement. "Naruto isn't nearly as cute as Sasuke!" she yelled. She then looked to the ground. "I'll have to admit that the beating he gave Naruto was pretty harsh though. He could've won it and let Naruto go, but he kept hitting... and hitting... and hitting..." Sakura trembled at remembering this. It was easily the hardest thing she had to watch in her entire life.

"Yeah, and he seemed to enjoy it... who the hell want's a psychotic boyfriend? I'll have to pass." As Ino finished talking, the bell on her shop door chimed. "Oh, hello Kurenai Sensei!" Ino said excitedly.

"Hey Ino, Sakura." Kurenai waved as she approached the girls. Kurenai was the definition of beauty. Her tall slender frame is coveted by many, as well as her flowing black hair. Her most striking feature was her eye's which were red with an extra ring in them. She was wearing mesh armor with only the right sleeve and a thorn pattern. Her arms were covered by bandages as well as her legs.

"What brings you here? It's usually Asuma Sensei grabbing you flowers, not the other way around."

Kurenai blushed an intense red and her eyes went to the floor, which resulted in a snicker from Sakura. "It's nothing like that!" she said a little louder than she expected. She quickly let the blush fade away. "I came for you, Ino. You've just been assigned to a B ranked mission.

Both girls eyes went wide. "WHAT?" they yelled in unison.

"It's a secret mission, I'll explain the details on the road." Kurenai stretched her arms above her head. "We leave in exactly an hour, so be by the gate then." She turned to walk away, leaving the two girls in shock.

"W-wait!" Ino yelled. "Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't Asuma Sensei be the one to tell me?" Confusion was evident on the girls face.

Kurenai sighed, she knew that this question was going to arise. "He's not going with you, you're being assigned to my team in the place of Shino."

Kurenai paused, expecting another outburst from the girl. She was surprised that she stayed silent, so she continued. "We'll be gone for a week or two, so make sure to bring only necessities." Kurenai walked through the door as she finished her statement, throwing a wave as she left.

Ino stood up from her stool and was followed by Sakura. They both were curious as to the mission, but knew that they weren't going to get any info.

Sakura smiled at Ino."Well, Ino-pig, it looks like you'll be gone for a while." she held out her hand. "I'm going to check up on Lee, so I'll see you when you get back, k?"

Ino smiled and shook the pinkette's hand. "You got it, Forehead. I'll make sure to come see you as soon as I get back!"

"I'll hold you to that!" Sakura replied as she turned and ran to the door. "Later!"

XxxoxxX

Goku and Naruto made quick work of Oolong. He was beaten to the point that he returned to his base form, a small bipedal pig. His pink body was plastered with bruises, and his right eye was swollen shut.

After leading the village to his house, they discovered that the girls were actually living a great life. Oolong owned a large mansion that he kept them in. He pampered the girls with gifts and rare jewels, and he even admitted to being tired of them. After some talking, they were finally handed the dragon ball.

"Hey, pig!" Bulma yelled at Oolong. "You're coming with us!"

Oolong shook his head swiftly. "No way! I refuse to, you guys fried my pork skin!"

"But your ability will be useful, I'm sure of it!"

Naruto stepped forward with a grin. "Henge!" In a small puff of smoke, the boy turned into a copy of the pig. Well, a copy without the bruises. And a mop of golden hair. The three onlookers all were surprised at this, and the pig released a squealing laugh.

"How'd you do that?" Goku asked in awe. "Can you teach me?"

"Hey, that's copyright! You can't steal my technique!" Oolong yelled in anger. He then began to smirk. "I must say, however blonde is definitely my color

Naruto growled as he returned to his original form. "It's not as easy as it looks!"

The pig gave a lopsided grin. He dug into a pocket on his shirt and grasped a sheet of paper, shoving it into the shinobi's face. "Shapeshifting Academy Valedictorian."

Naruto squinted his eyes at the small slip of paper. "This ain't no diploma! It's a receipt from a prescription of natural hog enhancements!"

…

The pig named Oolong had a quick second to react, but he didn't take his chance. He was suddenly socked in the jaw by what looked like a demon with blue hair.

"You pervert!"

"Owww! Stop it! I need a lawyer!"

After a few painful minutes for the pig, Goku and Naruto finally pried the fuming girl off of the poor pig. The bipedal animal now sported new bruises that somehow were bandaged.

"Are you okay Bulma?" asked the raven haired child.

"Yeah, ask the assaultee if their fine, not the assaulted," grumbled Oolong. He flinched as Bulma turned her attention back towards him with a glare.

Bulma crossed her arms and looked away. "I feel a bit better. And guess what?"

"What?"

"The pigs coming with us."

Oolong shook his head. "No way! I built this mansion with my own stolen money for ME and my girls. I intend to stay here with them, not leave with you monsters!"

"Shut it Porky!" Naruto yelled as he bonked him on the head.

Bulma nodded slowly. "Well then... How about you stay here and be their servant?"

Oolong's one good eye widened at this. "No no no no no! I'd rather travel with you demons than be stuck here wit- ouch!"

"I said shut it!" Naruto was angered even more as the pig used the term demon. His face contorted into one of mixed pain and anger, which didn't go unnoticed by Bulma.

"Alright, so that settles it. If he wants to come with us, we leave him."

The pig began to shake, rather in fear or anger was anyone's guess. He began grumbling about his luck. A smirk then crossed his face, followed by a chuckle.

Before another laugh could come, a poof revealed another blonde. The shinobi came and stood by the pig, making him shuffle uncomfortably.

"This is so you don't try to run."

Oolong began to sweat as he took a step back. To his annoyance, the clone took one in his direction. The two stared at each other, one smiling while the other scowled. "Fine, I won't run."

"Well let's get going!" Bulma yelled excitedly. She opened a capsule and released her motorbike, pulling on her helmet and cranking it up. She looked back at the blonde boy. "Needa ride?" she asked in a cool voice.

"Heck yea!" Naruto yelled. He jumped on the motorbike and clung around the girls waist, causing a blush to spread across both faces.

"Hee hee let's race!" Goku took off on Nimbus, with Bulma and Goku in tow.

XxxoxxX

"So how's thing's going on your side old man?" Jiraiya asked Master Roshi.

Jiraiya was a big fan of the Turtle Hermit. As a child he attended the Turtle school and passed with flying colors, all before he was five years old, when his father sent him to Konoha.

"It's OK I guess. I'm the same young man I was before!" the old man flashed a toothy grin and held up the piece sign." How's things going with you and..." The Turtle Hermit raised his eyebrows twice. "Not so little Tsunami."

Jiraiya returned the grin and shrugged his shoulders. "The same way it's always been. Her pounding on me," he grimaced as he said this, but it morphed into a sly smirk, "and then ME pounding HER, HAHAHA!"

"Ha ha, that's my boy!" The older hermit exclaimed. His face fell as his laughing died down. "It's been ages since your old Master has seen any action. I think I'm starting to lose my groove.

'You sure as hell are, who uses that term anymore?' "No way Master. You taught me my moves, it's no way that you're rusty!"

Master Roshi sweat heavily as his pupil questioned him. "I... well... you see..." he fumbled with his words, thinking of an excuse to have.

"I know what the problem is!" Jiraiya boomed, causing Roshi to flinch.

"Y-you do?" The old master looked away from his student. No way... he can't know about-

Jiraiya smirked wide as he patted his sensei on the back. "You just need to get out. Come out tonight with me. There's a party in Orange Star City, let's get there."

"Aaah..." Roshi relaxed as he exhaled. A sudden realization dawned on him. "How do you plan to get there? It's miles away from here, and by sea at that!"

Jiraiya continued to smile. "Gambunta owes me. I beat him at drinking... again!" he bit his finger as he spoke, drawing blood. "You ready?" he asked in a cool tone as he walked to the door. He suddenly turned around realizing that the hermit didn't respond. "Old man?" he asked, and was a little shocked at the sight he saw (with an emphasis on little.)

Roshi was leaning over in his seat, watching a female exercising program. The girls were leaning stretching their ankles to their ears. And Flexible Felicia was basically begging to be looked at in her skin tight spandex. Who was he to not look at her?

"You never change, old master."

A/N: Took a while… But it's here! Please read and review.


	5. Yamcha, the Desert Bandit

The day was hot and dry, the worst day to be in a desert. The feel of the breeze which should be cooling only seemed to raise the temperature by a few degrees, and the only shade was a combination of rocks in the distance. The only thing in the area were rocks and sand. Lots and lots of sand.

Although the scenery was the least habitable, five figures could be seen trudging through the large desert. They all looked fatigued, each hot and agitated beyond belief. They all were silent, except for the heavy panting of one individual.

A girl with a long blonde ponytail finally spoke up. "Kiba, are you sure this is the way that he went?" she asked as she wiped her forehead with her wrist for the umpteenth time.

"Umm... yea, I'm sure!" Kiba answered, sounding unconvincing whilst scratching the back of his hair. The boy had a mop of messy brown hair that matched his feral appearance. On each cheek were a downward red stripe that seemed tribal. His hoody was wrapped around his waist as he stood shirtless.

A small growl could be heard from beside him. He quickly looked down and whispered, "Shut it, Akamaru!" The small dog yipped something to the boy that caused him to turn red in the face. "Language!"

The sole adult of the group released a large sigh. The red eyed beauty wiped a lock of black hair that was matted to her flawless forehead. She felt that the boy was telling the truth, but she didn't want to hurt his pride. "Hinata, scan the desert. There may be a chance that their captors are hiding nearby." Even as Kurenai spoke the words, she knew that they were false. Someone capturing Jiraiya and the container of the Kyuubi? Yeah, right.

Naruto wasn't a great shinobi by any means. He was simply a sweet blonde that was rough around the edges. She, however had the honor of being a member of Team Kushina.

She, Asuma Sarutobi , and Raidō Namiashi were the genin team of one of the greatest kunoichi to ever grace the earth, in her opinion at least. She could be being biased. But she knew she wasn't. How? Because she said so.

'Er-hm, back on topic,' she thought as she cleared her throat. Kurenai only saw her sensei release the beast on a few occasions, and they each were a sight to behold. She became another being almost, one full of power and evil. A shudder was sent down her back as she recalled the first incident. Poor Raido…

"Anything interesting?" Ino asked. Kurenai glanced over and saw Hinata with the tell tale signs of Byakugan being activated. "If not, then puppy over here will get the stuffing beat out of him." She looked at Kiba, who responded with a snort.

"What can you do to me?" he asked, wiping the sweat off of his neck with the dangling sleeve of the hoody. "You lost to Sakura, there's no way you can scratch me."

"And you lost to the dead last, you flea ridden mutt!" Ino yelled with venom laced in her voice.

Kiba flinched, but quickly recovered. "He cheated! Farting shouldn't be allowed against an Inuzuka, you blonde anorexic pig!"

Ino's face turned a shade of red. She raised a fist at Kiba while yelling, noses so close they were nearly touching. "Well maybe I'll take over your body and let one loose! I'm sure that your diet of raw meat and feces will be oh so delightful to sniff you mangy hound!" The icy voice caused a chill to run down Kiba's spine.

Kurenai shook her head. This was ridiculous, she really needed time away from those two. "Hinata. I'm going to... scout the area. Who knows, some ninja may be trailing us." she drawled out the ending while waving a hand dismissively, trying to make her lie sound convincing.

Hinata nodded slightly. This was the only confirmation that Kurenai needed, and she quickly ran off in search of anything yet nothing.

The two genin continued to argue amongst themselves. The bickering went from them insulting each other, to them trash talking about their clans. Akamaru walked away from them and laid at Hinata's feet. The Hyūga child continued looking around, moving her head as only a force of habit. Nothing was there that seemed strange, just rocks, sand, and...

The girl suddenly tensed and pointed. "Someone's over there!" Hinata's voice rang out, quickly ending the argument. Both of her teammates gave each other one final glare before turning to Hinata.

The Hyūga squinted. "No... there's two of them."

"Two?" her fellow female genin echoed. "Is one of them Naruto?"

"No!" the princess squeaked with a red face. "One of them..." Hinata's quiet voice got even softer, "isn't ...human?" she silently asked.

Kiba chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Whoa Hinata, never saw you as the one to make a joke!" he snickered out.

Hinata blushed even more. "I-i-I'm not kidding!" she said. Her gaze went from Ino to Kiba and then back towards the approaching duo. Terror was evident on her face. "And they're coming this way!"

"Y-you gotta be kidding me!" Kiba groaned. He looked into the same direction as Hinata. A smile slowly spread across his face as he was hit with their scent. "Akamaru, it's time to have some fun!" he received two barks in agreement. The puppy even started jumping around in a circle to showcase his happiness.

Ino was confused as to what was going on, but she looked in the direction anyways. She could hear a loud roar approaching, which caused her to shake a little.

As the roar rose in decibels, a single dot could be seen rapidly approaching. Ino looked around, but could only see one figure. She did remember, however, that Asuma always told her that her eye's could deceive her.

After fifteen long seconds, the object came to a halt a few feet in front of them. A man jumped off of the object and landed in front of the trio. "Yo." he said with a cocky smirk.

Ino studied the boy. She saw that he had long messy black hair that came past his shoulders. His shirt was green and sleeveless with the kanji for "Easy" in the middle. He wore long beige pants as well as blue boots with white and red designs. His body was a muscular build, and he stood taller than each of the genin.

All in all, he was hot.

Kiba looked at Ino and saw her drooling over the man. He shook his head and stepped towards the guy, pointing a finger threateningly at him. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Fufufu," the man chuckled, "I am the Hyena whose Citadel is this very wasteland..." he paused for dramatic effect. "Yamcha."

A small cat jumped off the moving object that Yamcha possessed. It was blue with a beige underbelly. "And I'm Puar!" it yelled in a high pitched voice, trying to sound intimidating. It rose off of the ground next to Yamcha's shoulder.

"A talking... flying… cat?" Hinata whispered to herself. She deactivated her Kekkei Genkai to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her.

Kiba smirked and stepped forward, hands in his pockets, with Akamaru by his side. The cat floated further behind Yamcha as the puppy began to growl. "I'm Kiba, this is Akamaru," said dog barked, causing the feline to screech. Kiba motioned towards a fidgety Hinata with his head. "This is my teammate, Hinata, and this blonde is-"

Kiba was cut off as Ino ran up to Yamcha. "I'm Ino Yamanaka!" she said with a large smile. She snatched his hand and began to shake it furiously. "It's an honor to meet you, Yamcha." She said the man's name in a seductive way, causing the man to flinch, Hinata to blush, and Kiba to groan.

Yamcha shook the girls hand with a raised brow. Although he was shy around women it only seemed to work on girls his age or older. "Umm… hi?"

Ino stared at the boy with confusion evident on her face. She knew that she should have felt rejected, but it happened so much with sadistic Sasuke to the point where it didn't hurt anymore. It only made her more attracted.

The bandit slowly removed his hands from the tightening grip. "I'm here for your money and capsules." Yamcha glared at two of the three, completely ignoring the blond. "I wouldn't want to hurt you all, but hey, it's all about the money."

Kiba bared his teeth and growled, anticipating the ensuing fight. He ignored his ninken's whimpering, which usually meant that his opponent was too tough."Sorry bud, but I don't plan on giving you anything, except an ass whooping." Akamaru, loyal as ever, barked in agreement.

He looked back at his female companions and flashed them a cheeky smile. The feral child removed the sweater from his waist, tossing it behind him. "I got this punk."

"B-but... K-kiba... I think that he's-"

"Hinata!" Kiba closed his eyes and leaned back on his heel. The Hyūga princess looked up at her companion. Him standing there with his smirk of confidence removed all of her previous doubts. "I got this." He said with no lack of confidence.

The Hyūga heiress let a small smile spread across her face. She backed away from the soon to be fight slowly, her eyes never leaving those of Yamcha. He stared right back at her with a look of arrogance and… something else. She couldn't put her finger to it, but she didn't miss the small smirk he sent her way. A chill went down her spine, causing her to instinctively take a step back.

Ino looked between Kiba and Yamcha and sighed. She walked away with a dreamy look on her face. She couldn't pick a side (which was weird since one was trying to mug them), but she wouldn't mind watching the two duke it out.

The two boys stared each other down. They both held a look of confidence on their faces. A slight breeze flew by, causing their hair to dance in the wind. In Yamcha's mind, there was no way that he could lose to this punk kid. In Kiba's, he knew he had to redeem himself for losing to the dead last.

After a few second pause, Yamcha finally spoke. "Listen kid, the offer's still up. If you give me what you have, I'll let you and your girlfriends walk away."

Kiba chuckled slightly. "It's funny, 'cause I was just about to say the same to you." He lowered himself into his feral stance, his hands out at his side and claws stretching to an inch. "I got this one in the bag!" the young Inuzuka yelled as he dashed at Yamcha.

Yamcha skillfully sidestepped his opponent. He quickly swatted away a feral right slash then a left, raising a hand to block a follow up back slash, then jumped and dodged as he realized it was a feint for a leg sweep. Kiba grit his teeth as he released an onslaught of scratches onto his aerial opponent, each being parried by Yamcha's palms.

Kiba growled as he jumped away from his opponent. Yamcha smirked as he popped his neck and wrists. "You're pretty good." His face formed a toothy grin. "But unfortunately for you, I'm very good!"

The Inuzuka growled even deeper. His body tensed in annoyance at the shot sent his way. "I'll believe it when I see it, cat boy!" he spat at his opponent.

Yamcha's didn't reply, simply smirked and gave the preteen the "come on" motion. Kiba grinned in return, placing his hands together in the tiger seal. Yamcha raised a brow, and then jumped back as the boy's power spiked.

Kiba grinned and took the moment to drop to all fours, rocketing towards the older warrior and hitting him square in the ribs with an elbow. The teen only grimaced and gripped the attacking appendage. He reared back for a punch, preparing to end it for good. He wasn't expecting what came next.

"Gotcha!"

Yamcha howled in pain as the boys elongated fangs tore into his bicep, shaking vigorously like a dog. The bandit shoved him off, leaving a trail of blood trailing down his arm. He gave it a quick squeeze and realized that he only grazed the skin. When you live in the desert, you kind of get thicker than average skin. "You little mutt! Who bites in a fight!?"

Kiba spit a mouthful of spit and blood on the ground. His puppy quickly went and sniffed it, quickly lowering and growling at the teen. A large grin spread across Kiba's face as he lowered to the ground on all fours once more.

"One that fights with his nose! Now, Hinata!"

Yamcha's glanced and saw the violet haired girl toss two objects onto the field that quickly began spewing smoke. He jumped to try and get over it, only to be met by Kiba with a fist cocked.

Yamcha quickly threw up a guard and met the impact. Although he was relatively unhurt, he cursed as he twisted to land on his feet, once more surrounded by smoke.

Instantly he kicked as a small jaw gripped his calf and peeled the skin. He turned to chase it but was instantly punched in the cheek. A foot was then on his hurt arm, and a little head connected with his hardened abs, squealing slightly in pain.

"Got you!" Yamcha roared as he gripped the puppy by the neck and turning 94 degrees to the right. A fist impacted the helpless pup, causing him to screech in pain, wiggling frantically in his hand.

"Akamaru? What did you d-!?" Before Kiba could finish he was met with a kick to the stomach. Yamcha shoved a fist into the nose of Kiba, grimacing as the boy screamed, and wheel kicked him away.

"Heh," he chuckled, "where's your advantage now?"

XxoxxX

"Bulma, I'm hunnnnnngryyyyyyy," a small raven haired boy whined as he rode his cloud in front of her. A look of pain was plastered on his face as if he could die at any moment.

"And it's hooooooot," a blonde, around the same height groaned from his seat behind her.

The girl mashed on the breaks, causing said blonde to smash into the other child. They landed in a groaning heap in the road, and the front wheel of her tire stopped inches from their noses.

Both boys raised their eyes and were met with Bulma's. Naruto wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but he was sure that he saw he eyes flash a brighter blue. She hopped off of her ride and knelt inches from the two, talking softly.

"Do you think," she began, "that I'm not JUST AS HOT AS YOOUUU?" She shouted, glaring dangerously at Naruto.

The boy quickly shook his head, not trusting his voice to speak. His chest felt lighter as she turned her fury onto his rival.

"And YOUUUUU, Mr. Eat EVERYTHING IN SIGHT AND STILL WANT MORE! WHO ARE YOU, THE CHILD OF BIRKY?"

Goku cocked his head to the side. "Who's that?"

Bulma's eyebrow twitched at the question. "It doesn't matter WHO HE IS! THAT'S NOT IMP-"

"I've never heard of him either," Naruto muttered to Goku, scratching his head. "Maybe he's some pink ball that eats a lot?" The ending was made sarcastically, but Goku didn't seem to notice. He rose to a cross legged sitting position with his head cocked like a puppy.

"Bulma? Is he really?"

The girl's eyebrow twitched once more. "OF COURSE NOT! THAT WOULD BE UGLY!" The girl then visibly relaxed and smiled. "She's a light blue square! Matches my hair actually, which is just adorable!"

Goku frowned. "A pink ball is prettier to m- OW!" The boy gripped his head where a knot had formed, a gift from the bluenette.

"Shut it," ordered Bulma.

Naruto shoved himself to his feet quickly and began hopping from foot to foot. "I gotta pee!" he groaned.

Goku quickly recovered from his assault, hoping onto his feet as well. "Me too!"

Bulma's sighed as she pushed her hands to her face. She pointed towards a large rock structure. "Go, behind there."

"Ok!" They shouted in chorus, sounding much too happy to take relieve themselves.

"Boys," she groaned as she roared up her engine, taking off once more. She blushed as she realized she had to pee as well. She saw a smaller rock structure to the side and decided that it was better than nothing.

The teen quickly ran towards her destination. Before she entered, she placed both hands together. "Yondegon!" she whispered.

In an instant her vision changed. Everything around her seemed to be covered in a glowing blue film. She looked around inquisitively, taking in every detail of the small structure. From her glowing eyes she could see that one of the rocks were moved recently.

The curious girl attempted to shove the Boulder. She applied all of the strength she could muster but it still wouldn't budge.

"Well that's no good…" she groaned. The girl released her jutsu and fell to her butt in fatigue. Since she only used it once every few weeks her chakra well was rather small. "This sucks!" she growled as she lay back. "What if there was treasure? Gold? A HOT TAN GUY THAT COULD FIGHT!?"

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

Bulma shot to a sitting position, only to realize that she was no longer in the safety of the rocks. She was now bound to a tree. It was also dark out. As weird as this was, she couldn't bring herself to panic.

"Who are you?" she asked. A movement over her right shoulder caused her to freeze, and a glint of light off of a very sharp, steel needle caused her to lose her cool.

"I'm the one asking the questions," a female voice replied. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." The needle came closer to her neck. "Now, tell me what you know about Jiraiya and Naruto."

XxoxxX

Hinata's mouth dropped at the skill of the bandit. She could see everything with her blood line, and it wasn't looking good for her teammate.

After the bandit hit Kiba in the nose things took a turn for the worse. The boy's breathing was louder from the blood and Yamcha took advantage of this. Surprisingly none of his attacks were to kill.

After another onslaught of attacks Kiba came flying out of the smoke skipping across the ground. His puppy squealed and landed next to him, sliding on his side. Yamcha walked out with blood on him but relatively unharmed.

The long haired teen groaned as he rubbed his neck. "Sorry kid, but this could have been avoided. Just hand me the goods and you can still walk away."

Kiba slowly rose to his feet. He wiped his nose on his arm and spit a blood filled loogie out. "As if," he remarked, rocking slightly, "you think this is finished? I'm just getting started!"

"Well then," Yamcha smirked again. "Guess you're ready for my offense!"

Yamcha crouched and raised his hands out to his side. His right arm was sticking out further than the left, with his index finger raised slightly. He moved his hands in a steady circular rhythm.

Puar started jumping on the sidelines. "Get him, Yamcha! Show 'em whose boss!" the cat cheered from the sideline.

"You ready?" Yamcha asked. Before Kiba could respond, Yamcha rushed in and kneed him in his stomach causing the boy's eyes to bulge and spit to fly out. Yamcha jumped away and punched Kiba quickly with two rights and a strong left which sent the boy sailing backwards. Yamcha wouldn't allow that, however, as he grabbed the boys ankle and slammed him face first into the ground.

Kiba released a pained cry at the impact. Dry sand filled his mouth and he could feel the terrain tearing into his stomach. His claws left scratches in the ground as he rose to his hands and knees, panting heavily.

Yamcha smirked at the boy as he struggled to rise his feet. The puppy, who he thought was unconscious, ran to his side and whimpered as he licked his scowling face.

Hinata covered her mouth in shock. Kiba was pretty strong for a genin, but compared to this guy he was looking like an academy student! She wanted to intervene, but she knew Kiba wouldn't want her too. All the girl could do was look on in worry while contemplating a plan.

Ino looked on from the side with a look of concern. She had to admit that this guy was cute, and she never really considered Kiba a friend, but in the end he was still her teammate. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Hey Yamcha, leave him al-"

"Shut it, Blondie!" Kiba yelled at Ino, causing the girl to flinch slightly. The boy climbed to his feet and stuck a hand in his pocket, dropping a pellet on the ground. "Eat up, Akamaru!"

Yamcha raised a brow at this. Feeding, in the middle of a match? It was then that things got wonky. The tan dog's fur began to turn red, and he also noticed Kiba pop one into his mouth as well.

"So, soldier pills eh?" he muttered to himself.

Kiba grinned as the fatigue left his body. "Yep, and that's not all!" He bent forward and the flame colored puppy jumped on his back. "Jūjin Bunshin!"

The raven haired bandit widened his eyes in shock. What once was a puppy was now an exact replica of the kid he was beating on!. "Hey, now there's two of you!" he exclaimed.

"Yea... and we're twice as dangerous now!" 'Kiba' yelled whilst growling on all fours. The two clones slowly started circling the bandit, snarling dangerously while eying the man.

Yamcha returned to his fighting stance, glancing side to side at his opponents. He wasn't worried in the slightest, he knew that he was still in control of this battle.

"Gatsuuga!" Yamcha jumped swiftly out of the way as the spinning duo attempted to pierce him. He wasn't given a moment to breath as the duo quickly retaliated to attack. Yamcha ducked under a slash at his face, then blocked a kick with both forearms. He kicked up off of the ground as a knee flew at him from the opposite direction. Once he landed, he was assaulted from both sides by the feral duo.

"Now!"

Two more pellets of the smoke were dropped from both spiraling torpedoes. Yamcha held his breath as the smoke began to bellow and block his vision.

Yamcha dodged and dodged, yet he would still get hit a few times. He was getting scratched and bit and honestly, it was starting to sting. Yamcha was sweating profusely as he received a punch to the cheek. "Hey Puar!" he yelled as he grabbed a foot that was coming at him, yet was punched in the back of his head by the other. "A little help here!"

"R-right!" the feline yelled. "Change form!" In a puff of smoke, the cat turned into a large fan.

Hinata and Ino looked at the animal with surprise. "Am I on drugs... or did that cat just henge?" the blonde kunoichi asked her partner. Hinata shook her head as she looked on. The fan/cat began to spin at a rapid pace, instantly clearing the smoke.

Kiba smirked. "What's that supposed to do?" he asked as he kicked Yamcha in the back, causing the bandit to stumble forward into a punch from his doppelgänger.

"This!" Puar then changed into a skunk, turning around and sprayed a strong blast of foul odor onto the group. Yamcha covered his mouth and eyes as the smell approached, jumping high and landing out of the way of the blast.

"What the hell?" Kiba yelled as he tried to run away. The odor stuck fast, and his enhanced sense of smell crippled him even more. Akamaru whimpered as he reverted to his original form. He dashed away, running around attempting to get the stench off of him.

"Whoa!" Ino and Hinata quickly jumped away a couple of meters as they saw the scene before them, each covering their noses. This had to be the worst smell ever, even trumping Choji's bellybutton!

"I'm not done yet!" The cat morphed into a large blue hammer with a cheesing face. He swung hard and hit the puppy in it's side, sending it squealing and rolling through the dirt.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as he watched in horror, wrist failing to cover his nose. His best friend lay motionless on his side, causing the Inuzuka to fear the worst.

The man known as Yamcha simply smirked at the retreating girls. He gave his partner a smile and a thumbs up. "Great job, Puar!" The small feline smiled in pride as he poofed back into his original form.

"Now, time for some payback!" Yamcha ran at Kiba and lowered his stance. "Wolf Fang Fist!"

"W-what?" Kiba stammered as he attempted to catch his breath. Before he could react, he was pummeled with a furious series of punches, each getting faster and faster. Kiba tried to raise his arm to guard, but Yamcha would go around it and land a clean punch. After a long twenty seconds of this, Yamcha put the bottom of his palms together. He released a wolf howl as he pushed his palms into the young genin's chest, sending him into the air with a pained scream. Kiba hit the ground hard and rolled onto his side, clawing the ground in obvious pain.

The sand bandit looked back at his opponent, whom struggled to rise to his feet. "I told you to quit, kid," he said cockily. He lowered himself as the boy attempted to stand back up.

Kiba growled at him with fury and tears in his eyes, the stench being more than he could bear. His forearm covered his nose, which didn't help block out the smell in the slightest. 'I'm gonna kill this cocky bastard!' he thought as he glared at the grinning bandit.

"Now, time to end this!" Yamcha rushed the genin, ready to end this battle. Ino inhaled deeply and turned away, unable to face her teammates defeat.

Hinata looked at Yamcha approaching with wide eyes. Her entire body shook in fear. Where was Kurenai Sensei? Kiba was the strongest out of the three of them, so if he went down then they all would as well. Each step the man took towards Kiba made her shiver even more.

"Stop!" Hinata yelled as the bandit was a few feet in front of Kiba. She ran and jumped in his path, protecting her comrade in her fighting stance. Her body quivered as she stared him down, yet she wouldn't move. The veins surrounding her eyes stuck out, showing her kekkei genkai.

Kiba looked at his teammate with wide eye's, containing both surprise and anger. "Hinata, get away!" he roared at her. "This is MY fight!" He attempted to stand, but stumbled backwards. Ino rushed to his side and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Kiba, you're in no condition to fight. Hell, you can't even stand!" Ino mumbled as she draped his arm over her shoulder. She grunted as she stood, which he replied with a whine of pain. "Maybe Hinata can hold him off until our Sensei returns."

"I'M IN NO POSITION? Did you miss the fight between her and Neji?" Kiba struggled to get loose but stumbled. "D-Dammit!"

The Hyūga and the criminal stared into one another's eyes. Yamcha looked at the girl and was impressed, most people ran in fear at the mention of his name! He couldn't stop the smirk as he watched her. "I don't wanna hurt you, little girl." He held out his hand. "Just hand me the goods and this will all be over."

Hinata looked back at her team. Akamaru was laying on his side, a pile of vomit sitting inches from his face. His fur was drenched a yellowish tint, the spray must've hit him harder than Kiba. Akamaru shuddered with each slow breath, his pain obvious. She sighed, happy that he was at least still breathing. She then looked at Ino and Kiba. Kiba was laid out on his back, breathing rapidly as blood flowed out of him, a scowl mixed with both anger and pain plastered on his bloody face. Ino sat over him, her palms glowing and trembling as she attempted to ease his pain. Although she was aware that she wasn't at full strength (her body was still bandaged and trying to recover), there was one thing that kept Hinata focused. 'What would Naruto do?' she asked herself, although she knew the answer.

"What should I do?" the lavender haired girl whispered. Her stance was off a little as she trembled from the man in front of her. If she just gave the man their few supplies, then he would leave them alone; allegedly. If she stood to fight him, she could end up in a much worse condition than Kiba, then he'd take their sparse equipment either way.

"Hey Violet," the bandit said, snapping Hinata out of her trance, "It's your move."

Hinata tightened her stance and put on a brave front. "I-I'll stop you." she stammered as she got into position. Just as quickly as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

Yamcha smirked. "Bad choice." The desert man rushed at Hinata and punched aggressively but was surprised as she ducked out of the way. She returned with a leg sweep but Yamcha jumped over it and had to dodge quickly as she retaliated with pointed strikes. She continued to strike at him, yet he effortlessly dodged each.

Hinata knew that her strikes were uncoordinated. The fear of her friends getting harmed was too great. She aimed to hit his shoulder, but he nimbly twisted his body and slapped her in the back of her head, causing the girl to fall forward with a small shriek. She quickly caught herself, however and rolled onto her knees whilst raising her arms behind her head to block an oncoming punch. Hinata gritted her teeth, while the bandit displayed a confident smile.

He shook his head at the girl. "I know who you are."

That simple statement caused fear to rush through Hinata. "Hinata Hyūga, heir of the Hyūga clan. Eldest daughter of Hiashi and Himara, older sibling of Hanabi." The man paused and she rolled away, quickly jumping back with a sloppy palm strike. Yamcha gripped her wrist and kicked her in the stomach. The girl cringed and fell to the ground but quickly raised herself. She panted heavily as she felt the bandages on her stomach becoming wet. Regardless, she rose once more to her preferred fighting stance.

"You know, you're worth a whole wad of zeni, hell enough to retire for five lifetimes." His smile became more animistic as he saw the girls guard loosening. "If I turn you in, I wouldn't have to steal anymore." He lifted his knee into the girls abdomen, resulting in a shriek, as well as sending her back a few meters.

Ino let loose a stifled cry as she watched her teammate get hurt. As much as she wanted to help Hinata, she knew that if she stopped healing Kiba he could die on the spot. Kiba was losing consciousness quickly but she had to keep him alive, at least until Kurenai got back. "Hinata... be strong..." she whispered as a tear fell down her face.

Yamcha rushed Hinata and kicked her in her right side, halting her momentum, then swung a barrage of strikes at her chest and face. Hinata attempted to hit Yamcha in the chest, but he raised his knee to hit her wrist causing her to scream out in pain. Kiba jolted awake with widened eyes, screaming his teammate's name as he saw her. Yamcha looked in his direction, giving Hinata enough time to land a strike on his right shoulder, which immediately caused it to fall lifelessly beside him.

Yamcha grunted from the strike, as he swung with his left hand, hitting harder than he expected. Hinata let out a whimper as she tumbled on the rough sand, adding more scratches to her already battered face and clothing.

"Dammit!" Yamcha yelled as his cat quickly flew to his side.

"Are you okay Yamcha?" it asked with worry on it's face.

"I'm fine!" Yamcha snapped as he cradled his arm. "I just have to finish this sooner than later."

Hinata stared at the man wide eyed as she attempted to stand, however it was unsuccessful. Tears quickly clouded her vision as she shivered. Her breathing accelerated. Would he really take her? If he wanted to, there was nothing she could do to stop it, considering he outclassed her in all ways of combat. She knew that her eyes were valued in the Shinobi world, and other villages would pay plenty for them. What if they kidnapped her and bred her? What if they killed her and medically transferred her eyes? The possibilities were endless and she couldn't think of any scenario ending in a good way.

"Hinata, run!"

Hearing Kiba's voice jolted the girl out of her trance. She jumped back weakly and dodged a punch that would've easily incapacitated her. She gripped her stomach as pain rushed through her causing her to stumble to her knees and accidentally dodge a follow up kick. If only she wasn't such a failure, she could've performed some of the high ranking clan jutsu's.

Yamcha looked at the crouched girl with a frown. He wasn't a kidnapper, merely a bandit. He couldn't pass up on this opportunity, however. He took slow steps towards the girl and was surprised as she once more rose into her stance.

"I admire your guts, but you know that you're outclassed." The girl slowly rose to her feet and took a step back. "This can all be avoided-" Yamcha dodged a slow punch, "if you just-" he batted a forward palm strike away, "stop fighting." Yamcha finished as he gripped her wrist.

Hinata struggled to wrench her arm free, but to no avail as the man's grip was strong. She frantically attempted to attack with her hurt hand, but Yamcha lifted his knee once more and struck her wrist, resulting in another scream. Hinata's Byakugan was released, with most of her chakra gone.

"Ino... do something!" Kiba grunted from his spot on the ground.

"But if I do-"

"Let me die!"

The harshness in his words were hard to miss, but she could tell he was serious. The reality of Ino's profession began to weigh in on her shoulders, and she honestly began to regret the decision to become one.

Ino looked from Kiba to Hinata. Hinata looked to be dazed; her eyes were droopy, yet she still was trying to wrestle free. She shakily lifted her hands and connected her thumbs, index and middle fingers together. She tried to aim on Yamcha, but her hands were too shaky. "I can't do it!"

Kiba growled in annoyance as he tried to sit up. "I have to try something!" He let lose a loud roar as his body screamed in protest. The boy collapsed back down as he coughed up blood.

Hinata had already given up on escaping. With her one good wrist broken, there was no way that she could escape this bandit. She closed her eyes and let a tear fall. As she silently cried, only one thing was on her mind. "Naruto..." she whispered to herself.

"Let her go!"

Hinata's eyes jolted open as she heard an all too familiar voice. Was she hallucinating? As she saw the look in Yamcha's face, she figured she couldn't be. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye's she saw a flash of orange streak through.

Yamcha let out a pained scream as he was punched in the stomach by the blur. Hinata smiled and blushed as her savior caught her before she hit the ground. She looked into her crush's face and couldn't help but blush. This was her dream! Being saved by her orange clad, spiky black haired muscular frie-

Wait.

Spiky black hair? As Hinata's blurry vision focused, she realized that it wasn't Naruto holding her, but another boy, another handsome one at that. He was smiling at her really wide, and she couldn't help but notice his shiny teeth.

"Good hit, Goku!" Hinata looked toward the familiar voice and saw Naruto running in her direction. This caused her to blush even further as she realized she was being held by another. The mix of embarrassment, confusion and pain was too much as Hinata fainted in Goku's arms.

Goku giggled. "Hehehe, I think he fell asleep!" he said as he looked at the figure in his arms.

"It's a girl you moron!" Naruto yelled as he got near the two. "Hey, it's Hinata!" he yelled as he saw the girl in Goku's arms. His face became a grim expression as he looked at her bruises.

"Who the hell," the boy growled as he gazed at his surroundings. He quickly noticed his two other classmates on the ground. "Kiba, how'd you let this happen to Hinata, you bastard?" The grounded boy attempted to yell back, only to burst into a fit of coughs.

Yamcha grit his teeth as he stared at the two newcomers. The punch that was delivered to him was unreal, stronger than anything he ever had to deal with. He needed an escape plan, and fast, considering his arm was out of use.

"You kids think you want some of this?" Yamcha asked, trying to intimidate the duo.

Goku's eyes widened. "Some of what? Do you have candy? Yes, I would like some! Pleeeeeeease!" he begged with an innocent expression. This caused everyone around him to sweat drop.

Naruto looked at Goku and shook his head. "Goku, let me handle this." he said in a low growl.

"Ah, but I wanted to fight him!" Goku protested.

"He's mine! I'm gonna have a go at him!" Naruto shot back.

"But he looks strong!" Goku half-pouted, pointing at Yamcha, "So, please?"

An idea struck Naruto. Goku might get mad later, but this was personal to the blonde ninja. "How about we play rock, paper, scissors for it Goku?"

The raven-haired boy's face brightened up. "A new game? Oh boy!" Goku then looked around at their scenery, "But, which rock should I choose?"

Those not already on the ground, sans Naruto, face faulted. And the only reason Naruto hadn't was because he had suspected Goku wouldn't know the game.

"Not a real rock, you just curl your hand into a fist, and that makes a rock!" Naruto continued on with his, own, explanation of the children's game.

"So now you know how to play?" The genin asked.

Goku nodded, eagerly. "Yeah, it seems a lot like a move my grandpa taught me, but still different!"

The two jumped into position, readied themselves, and began.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Both shouted.

Goku came up with a rock, Naruto came up with paper

.

"Looks like I win Goku," Naruto smirked.

"Fine, but I get the next fight," Goku said cheerfully. Blissfully unaware that he could have chosen something other than rock. A fact Naruto had conveniently forgotten to mention. The raven-haired boy then jumped over to where Ino and Kiba were, typical smile on his face.

"Hi, I'm Goku!" The raven-haired boy said as he introduced himself.

Ino looked at Goku with a raised brow. 'Hmm he's cute!' She thought as she introduced herself. Kiba ignored him, choosing to rather stare at Naruto than to acknowledge the new kid.

Yamcha looked down at the little boy and a thought appeared in his head. He ignored the scowl that the blonde was giving him and replied with a simple smirk and nod towards his feline companion. He couldn't help but snicker as the boy started stomping and pointing at him.

"What are you smirking at?" Naruto asked. "Learn to respect the Hokage when he approaches you!"

"Hokage?" Yamcha asked with a chuckle. "There's no way a brat like you could take that position. I mean, look at you," Yamcha waved his good hand at the boy, "you're malnourished. And your outfit isn't exactly what I'd call ninja worthy. And on top of all that, you have freaking whiskers kid! I'm a wolf, I'd eat you. Literally." Yamcha licked his lips to emphasize his point.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled as he rushed the man. Yamcha smiled, easily kicking out his foot and nailing the Jinchuuriki in the stomach. Naruto skid back a few feet as the wind was knocked out of him. He fell to one knee and inhaled rapidly, but was quickly kneed in the jaw which sent him into the air. He landed on the ground with a thud, sprawled out on his back.

"Whoa man, I was actually a little worried!" Yamcha said as he laughed heartily. "I can beat you with my arm tied behind my back!" Yamcha briefly thought of his choice of words, realizing that he really did only have one arm. He watched as the kid dubbed Naruto stood to his feet shakily. "You should've let monkey boy over there fight, you're much weaker than that mutt and his pup. Hell, even the girl put up more of a fight than you!"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled more shakily this time. He crossed his fingers into his signature jutsu and six clones surrounded him. "Let's see how you handle all of us!"

Yamcha smirked, not showing any hints of fear. None of the clones even had a fighting stance! They all stood in uncoordinated positions, showing a complete lack of fighting skills.

"Bring it," he said, and quickly jumped up to avoid a clone that hastily charged. Yamcha kicked the clone in the back of his head, causing him to quickly dispel. Two more followed suit, and Yamcha withdrew his sword and a side swipe quickly ended their short life. The remaining four Naruto's each grabbed a kunai and blindly rushed the bandit.

"I'll play with you for a little while," Yamcha said as he gripped his blade even harder. He parried an onslaught of sloppy attacks from the four blondes, even smiling as he did it. He was twisting back and forth as he blocked the attacks, not even feeling the need to go on the offensive. Naruto noticed this, and in the middle of a high swing decided to announce it.

"Stop playing with me!" he yelled as his blade met Yamcha's. Yamcha jumped away from the group of clones, and wasn't surprised in the least as they all decided to follow. He then looked into the sky. "Now Puar!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Naruto followed his gaze and was surprised to see a large bird with wings swoop low, forcing him to duck. Yamcha jumped up and landed on top of it, smirking as he looked back at the battered group.

"Get back here you wimp!" Naruto yelled while throwing his kunai at the object, grunting as none were near their target. Damn his aim sucked!

"See you later!" Yamcha yelled in response. It was then that he noticed two beautiful females approaching. His face changed into a dumb look and he quickly turned back forward. "Faster, Puar, faster!"

Naruto dispelled his clones and ran back to his allies. He smiled goofily in triumph as he approached the group. Ino was still applying her healing to an unconscious Hinata, while Goku was talking to her and watching her hands glow in glee. Kiba was sitting up and avoiding his gaze. On his lap was Akamaru, now conscious but still looking terrible. "Hey guys!" he yelled as he approached.

"Hey, look at the dead last!" Kiba said in a mocking voice.

"If I'm the dead last, where does that put you? Considering I beat you in the exams and all..," he trailed off as he smirked at the pup.

Kiba choked up, not expecting Naruto to react so quickly to his comment. Ino giggled at him while Akamaru growled, remembering that he also lost in the fight.

"You only won because of your stink butt!" Kiba yelled as he looked away from Naruto.

The blonde waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, either way, I won! I must be getting much stronger! Did you see how that guy was running from me? He was all like 'man you're too strong for me' and I was like 'yea I know' and then he was like-"

"Naruto?" Naruto froze as he heard his name called. He turned around and saw the beautiful face of Kurenai Sensei and Bulma, the latter looking a tad scared. He smiled as he saw her, she was one of the people in the village that didn't treat him like trash.

"Hey Sensei!" he yelled goofily as he waved at her. She quickly approached them, and burst into a sprint as she saw the state that her students were in.

"Nice to see you too," the bluenette grumbled as she glared at her two bodyguards that let her be kidnapped. Bulma reluctantly travelled behind while grumbling under her breath.

"What happened?" Kurenai demanded in a panicked voice. She ran to Hinata's side and put a hand on her head, the other grazing her abs. She nervously looked between her students as she listened to them relay the story to her. Her face went from fear of the bandit harming them, to proud of Hinata and Kiba standing up to him, to surprise at the kid named Goku's speed and strength. When the story finished, she was over Hinata checking for any serious damage.

Kurenai sighed. She knew that her next decision was most likely to get her more fire than help, but she needed to get Hinata medical attention immediately. If her students were to get hurt severely she'd never forgive herself.

"Guys, I'm ashamed to say this, but we have to go get help as fast as we can." Kurenai said solemnly.

"Where are you suggesting?" Ino asked as she twirled a finger in her hair.

Kurenai deeply inhaled, then slowly let it out. "Orange Star City."

XxxoxxX

A/N. Soooo another one down. This chapter was originally 8 pages long but would you look at that? It made it to 18! That's… 125% increase! Shout's out to the math majors out there!

And a response to a comment about the typo I made… Yeah, the one you pointed out wasn't a typo. Roshi and Jiraiya haven't seen each in over a decade so he kind of got Tsunade and Tsunami mixed up. The others that you saw probably were typos though lol.

So any questions? I'd happily respond. Just leave it on that button below and I will respond! OH, first person to guess the Birky reference gets 20 points. First person to 100 gets... An OC!


	6. Hostile Hospital

Hostile Hospitals

Walking towards the hospital of Orange Star City was a mother and child. The mother was dressed in a doctor's coat, she was the head doctor at the hospital. She had long curly dark blue hair and blue eyes. She was rather tall, and her beauty was unrivaled in the city.

"Mom, I don't want to be a doctor! I'm going to be a world known martial artist, not some stupid pencil pusher!" yelled the child as he waved his fist in the air. The young boy was small for his age of 11, standing under five feet. His hair was cut short and black, but under certain light it could be mistaken for blue. He wore a beige training gi and black boots. His jet black eyes were always full of dreams, dreams bigger than most people's imagination. He smirked as he crossed his arms across his chest. "We'll be an amazing combo, I'll beat the crap out of them, then you- AH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" the boy yelled as he grabbed his nose, which he received a slap to moments before.

"Watch your mouth!" his mom yelled with a dangerous tone, one that he knew meant that he was in trouble. "I don't care how strong you get, you will respect me, Mark!"

"Yes ma'am," Mark whined as he failed to hold back tears. His mom stared at him for a long few seconds, and then smiled and pinched his cheek.

"It's only because I love you, sweety," she said as she released a giggle. She stood up and straightened her hair, always having to look her best. "Come now," she said as she continued walking.

Mark followed his mom while still sniffling and rubbing his nose. He silently followed her, while dreaming of the great fight's he would have. He could already see himself winning numerous Tenkaichi tournaments, and all by a long shot. He would be the great defender of earth from any evils that approach. The world famous fighter, Mark the Martial Artist!

Mark scratched his chin with a slight grin. He really needed to work on a cool name to go by, in order to install fear in his opponent's.

"Oof!" Mark grunted as he ran face first into his mother's butt. He backed away and furiously wiped his face. "What the heck mo-Augh!" Mark flinched as he was punched on the top of the head.

"I told you to watch your tone, Marky!" his mom said while sternly glaring at him. Mark cowered in fear of the fire in her eyes. He was relieved as she looked away and stared at the city's entrance. "Do you sense that Mark?" she asked with curiosity

Mark rubbed his head as he opened his senses. His mom taught him how to sense chakra as a young boy, in order to avoid the bullies that tend to gang up on him. After a few second's, Mark got irritated.

"Mom, are you yanking my chain?" he asked with annoyance. "I don't -" Mark halted as he sensed figures approaching. He could tell that they weren't native to the city, their chakra all seemed to be trained. One of them seemed eerily familiar.

"Let's go to the hospital, they'll be coming soon," the mother said as she continued her trek to work. Mark looked between her and the direction that the figures were approaching. He quickly ran to catch up with his mother.

As the two walked into the hospital, the mother looked at her brown skinned attendant. "There's some people coming here in a few seconds. Send them to me instantly." she said as she quickly walked to her operating room.

"Yes ma'am," The attendant said as she hung up the phone. "Hey Mark," she said in a soft tone as she saw the boy. Mark waved at her with a blush as he took a seat. He wanted to see the newcomers as soon as they walked into the building.

The attendant picked the phone back up and continued her conversation. Mark rolled his eye's as he realized she was talking about some guy named Quentin. He actually thought she liked him, but he see's that was bull.

Out of the corner of her eyes, the attendant noticed people approaching the door to the hospital quickly. Actually, beyond quickly. Almost as soon as she saw them, the door burst open entered a long raven haired beauty.

"Hurry, these kids need immediate treatment!" the tall lady yelled as she burst into the large hospital of Orange Star City. Mark stared at her with his jaw hanging to the ground. She was beautiful, her long silky black hair was exotic and her red and black eyes were beyond anything he'd witnessed. Behind her rushed in a short chubby boy with black hair, as well as... a tail? That wasn't weird at all. He was carrying a pretty lavender haired girl in his arms with a concerned look on his face. Behind him was a blonde, who wore an orange jacket. He was carrying a boy that looked less than happy, he also had sharp teeth. The last too run in was a blonde with a long ponytail, carrying an injured puppy.

The only adult looked at the receptionist, whom just stared at the group in a face showing both curiousness and surprise. Her face turned into a scowl. "Do you not hear me?" she asked as she banged on the desk, causing both the lady and the object to jump. "I said, NOW!"

"R-right away ma'am!" the lady said with a shaky voice as she ran into the back room. "Follow me!" she yelled and was quickly trailed by Goku and Naruto, still carrying Hinata and Kiba respectively. Ino quickly ran to catch up to them.

"Where are you going?" Goku asked. "I thought you were going to help her!"

The lady turned towards Goku as she still ran. She noticed the look of concern in his eyes and couldn't help but smile. "We're going to see the best doctor in town. I promise, your friends are going to be OK."

"Alright!" Naruto yelled. "You hear that Kiba? You're going to be fine!"

"Of course I heard, Naruto," Kiba growled. "I'm an Inuzuka for crying out loud."

Back at the reception desk, Kurenai was reading the numerous plaques on the wall. Most were about the great hospital, but she was more interested in the head doctor. She smiled as she read how the doctor saved a young girl that fell down a hill. The damages seemed fatal, but nothing seemed impossible for this doctor.

"Hey, you think being a doctor's cool?" Kurenai turned and noticed the boy sitting in one of the waiting chairs.

"Yes I do," she said with a smirk. "I almost became a nurse once. It was what my mom wanted."

"You too?" Mark said with an exaggerated shout. "My mom always tells me to become a doctor. I want to be the world's greatest martial artist!" he said as he shadow boxed the air.

Kurenai giggled at the kid. "I see, it look's like you're pretty strong." she walked towards the boy and sat by him. "What's you're name?"

"I'm Mark!" the boy yelled as he smiled at her.

"And I'm Kurenai," the Kunoichi said, returning the smile. A questioning look appeared on the boys face.

"Hmm..." he said, scratching his head. "That name rings a bell somewhere..."

"Maybe you heard about me. I'm actually from here, but left to become a ninja."

"A ninja?" Mark yelled as he jumped to his feet. "Can you teach me? Huh? Huh? Canya?" he yelled jumping excitedly up and down. Kurenai couldn't help but smile.

"Of course I can, Mark," she replied.

"Calm down, Mark." Mark instantly stopped jumping up and down. He looked to the hall and saw his mother. She wore a white apron over her usual scrubs, as well as a mask covering her mouth. She was currently pulling on white gloves. "Hello, Kurenai." she said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Kurenai looked at the doctor and exhaled slowly. This was the one part of the trip that she wanted to avoid. "Hello, Mom."

XxoxX

"Again."

Sasuke grit his teeth. He was trying to keep his patience with his annoying Sensei, but he was losing it by the second. Kakashi was teaching Sasuke his only signature technique. It was coming easily to Sasuke, but the mark on his neck was Hell. It messed with his chakra output and would randomly send painful waves through him.

They were sitting at the usual team 7 training grounds. The area was covered in burn marks and punctures that went a few inches in the ground. A few trees in the surrounding area were punctured as well. The lone training doll, however, was completely bare of any marks.

The doll was only three hundred yards away from him, yet he couldn't land a single hit on it.

Sasuke gripped his right wrist with his left and concentrated. He grunted as he felt the lightning chakra gather in his hand. The sound of thousands of birds echoed through the air as the energy in his hand rose in intensity. He grunted as the weight of the attack increased. He looked up at the doll as he ran full sprint at it. "Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as his sharingan was activated.

"You're weak." Sasuke flinched as he heard the voice. He looked ahead and saw Itachi staring him down. The red eyes of his brother stared at him as if he were being analyzed. Sasuke growled at the man, the one he was destined to kill.

"Shut up!" he yelled as he thrust the chidori forward. He smiled with satisfaction as he hit his mark head on. Sasuke watched as Itachi's eyes slowly moved down and stared into his. "Weak." he said again as he disappeared.

"Good job." Sasuke looked towards Kakashi and saw the Jonin still looking in his book. Sasuke looked back toward Itachi and saw that his hand was in the chest of the doll.

"However," Sasuke looked back towards his sensei, " Most targets will be moving. want you to hit your target fifteen times consecutively, and then we would be on to the next step."

Sasuke growled at Kakashi as he ran back to the starting spot. If Naruto thought he could beat him in the tournament, to Hell with that. He would be sure to come out on top of this entire tournament.

XxxoxxX

"Whoa, so you're really my sister?" Mark said with enthusiasm in his voice. He stared into Kurenai's eyes with admiration.

"Yea, I guess so," Kurenai said as she scratched the back of her head. This was news to her as well.

Naruto jumped up and down as he stared at the lady. He and Goku had returned moments earlier after being rushed away by the nurse.

"That's so cool, Sensei!" he said as he looked between the two siblings. "I wish I had a brother!"

"What's a brother?" Goku asked as he looked on at the situation. Mark looked at him with a confused expression.

"You really are stupid, huh?" Mark said with a sweat drop.

"Be nice!" Ino said as she glared at Mark. Mark was stuck from her beauty, so he didn't retaliate. She looked towards Goku with a smile. "A brother is someone that has the same parents as you."

"Oh," Goku said. Everyone in the room sat silently as he held a finger to his mouth. "What's a parent?" Everyone in the room fell anime style at the boy's question.

"A parent is the person that gave birth to you!" Mark yelled with frustration as he crawled to his feet. "Shouldn't that be apparent?"

"Oh," Goku replied. "I don't have a brother."

"Don't worry, me either." Naruto said with a solemn expression. Kurenai looked at little Goku with interest.

"Hey Goku," she said to the boy, whom looked at her.

"Yea?" he answered.

"Why do you have a tail?"

Everyone turned their attention towards Goku. He looked at Kurenai with a blank face. As if on cue, his tail wiggled.

"I don't know, my grandpa said all boys have them." Goku said with a calm voice.

"He's gotta be kidding me..." Ino said as she rubbed her temple. For such a cute boy, he really was dense!

"I don't have a tail!" Mark said as he jumped to his feet and pointed at the young boy. "You must be some kinda freak or something!"

"Mark!" The boy froze as he heard the familiar voice call his name. He slowly turned and looked into the angered eyes of his mom. The boys face was drained of color as he looked into the fiery eyes of his mother.

"M-mom..." Mark stammered as she quickly started walking towards him. "I wasn't calling him a freak, I promise-OW!" Mark yelled as he was punched on the top of the head. This caused Goku to snicker, and Ino and Kurenai to look away.

"Watch your language!" she yelled as she hit him again.

"Yes ma'am!" Mark yelled as he rubbed his sore head.

"I see that you haven't changed a bit..." Kurenai said to her mother. The elder lady smiled as she pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Just because I'm older doesn't mean I'll allow my kids to disobey me!" was her stern response.

"Excuse me lady, but how are my friends doing?" asked the hyperactive blonde shinobi.

The older doctor sighed. "Honestly, not too good." Naruto's face fell into a frown. Kurenai's eyes fell to the ground as she listened to the doctor. "The girl's wrist are both broken, as well as one rib. She's extremely low on chakra as well, her reserves aren't that well to begin with." Ino wiped a tear from her eye. "The boy's even worse. He broke three of his ribs, as well as a fracture in the sternum. One of his lungs was scraped, but I healed it before any serious damage could be done. The scratches on his face and body should heal eventually, but one horizontally on his cheek is deep enough to stay, possibly for life." Kurenai squinted her eyes tightly, trying to keep the tears from flowing.

"The dog also suffered from broken ribs, as well as his hip. He is extremely dehydrated from excessive amounts of vomit. It's a good thing you brought them here when you did." The group stared solemnly at the ground. They were full of sadness as they were delivered the news. "Which one of you healed the group?"

"M-me," was Ino's reply. She continued staring at the ground, shaking slightly. She flinched slightly as she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up and saw the doctor smiling into her face.

"You did good." she said while she looked at the young genin. "If it weren't for you, your friends would have died on the battle field." Ino shuddered at the mention of her friends death. A slow smile spread across her face.

"I'm proud of you, Ino," Kurenai said as she smiled at her lovers student. "I'm sure that Asuma would be proud too.

"Thanks," Ino said with a blush and a grin.

"Your friends should be waking up soon. Don't you all want to go and check on them?"

"You bet!" Naruto yelled as he and Goku raced to the back.

"W-wait for me!" Ino said as she trailed behind the two boys.

"Mark, go."

"Yes ma'am!" The young man raced after the young genin.

"Now, onto you." The doctor looked toward Kurenai. Her soft expression hardened as she glared at her daughter. "How the Hell could you let your students get hurt like this?" she yelled furiously. "You are their Jonin instructor, so it is your duty to protect them from harm. And not to mention that they were hurt by a missing nin! Imagine if he used a jutsu on them? How would you explain this to their parents? Or do you not think about things like this?" As the conversation went on, the older ladies voice rose.

"I..." Kurenai was at a loss of words. Everything her mother said was true, and it hurt her to admit it. She shouldn't have left her students, her job is to stick with them at all times! How could she let them get hurt to that extent? What would Asuma think of her?

"Oh, you don't have anything to say?" Her mother shook her head slowly as she looked at Kurenai. "You're just like your father."

Kurenai tensed at this response. She knew the reason her father and mother separated. Her mother accused her dad of cheating and kicked him to the curb. Kurenai decided to stay with her father and moved to the elemental countries with him. His lax parenting was more favorable than the stern mother that was for sure.

"Where is the cheating bastard anyway?" her mom asked with disdain in her voice.

"He's dead..." Kurenai harshly whispered. The air between the two women tensed. Kurenai wanted nothing more than to disappear at moment, but she knew that would warrant another argument from her mother.

"Kurenai, I-"

Suddenly, a large explosion could be heard coming from the town. Both ladies rushed outside, and were met by Goku's blue haired companion.

"What's going on?" Kurenai demanded.

"Oh my gosh!" Bulma yelled as she breathed quickly, hands full of things she recently purchased. Behind her, many townspeople ran around the city. "There's this guy riding on a brown bird! He blows things up, and that's not the scariest part." Her face morphed into one of disgust. "He has mouth's on his hands!"

The door behind the women opened and exited Goku, Naruto, Ino, and Mark. "What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"That!" Kurenai yelled as she threw kunai at incoming clay birds, causing a chain of explosions. As the explosions died down, there stood a man with long blonde hair. He smiled at the group with a widening grin.

"You, Whiskers," the man said as he licked his lips, eyes on the male blond. Naruto glared at the man, already feeling anger welling on the inside. "You're going down, and in a bang."

XxxoxxX

"Three hundred ninety nine, four hundred!"

An extremely tired Rock Lee fell back into his hospital bed. Although he was given strict orders to refrain from any physical activity, the shinobi in him simply refused to do so. He was now doing his own variation of a sit up, which was him lifting his body a few inches from the spread.

Although normally this would be a menial task for the teen, he was extremely exhausted from the effort. His hair was damp and his muscles screamed from the pain yet he always pushed himself.

His youthful Sensei wasn't helping in his recovery either.

"Good job Lee!" he hollered at the top of his voice. Tears of joy streamed down his cheek as he cheered for his student. "That's six more than yesterday!"

Lee smiled wide at the praise. "It's all thanks to you, Guy Sensei! As long as I have breath in my body, I will push myself to my limits!"

The Jonin jumped from his seat with a fist raised. "No, I didn't do anything! It is your youthful fire that pushes you! I am a mere breeze that keeps it from dying!"

The genin now had tears flowing down his cheeks and snot from his nose. "None of this would be possible without your training and belief in me!" He forced himself into a sitting position. "And if I can't do more tomorrow, I will run sixty laps around the village on my fingers!"

The man ran to the side of the boy, hugging him as he lay. "Lee!"

The boy wrapped his hands around the man. "Guy Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Are we interrupting?"

Both men turned towards the voice. They were looking into the eyes of their teammate Ten Ten. Beside her was a less than happy looking Neji.

"Ah, Neji! Ten-Ten! What a joy it is to see you! Did you also come to watch Lee push himself to become a better shinobi?"

The female rolled her eyes, hand on her hips. "We actually came to make sure he was recovering correctly and not pushing himself buuuut from the sweat and tears I'm guessing that's a negative." She ignored the snort coming from beside her. "What are you guys up too?"

Guy moved from his protégé and stood in front of his other students. "Well my youthful students, we were just doing a light workout! His progress is rather impressive!"

Neji grunted this time. "If he would've won his match, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

The room fell silent at this. The only sound to be heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall and the crumpling of the sheets in Lee's hand.

After a long few seconds, Lee's weak voice finally came. "You're right, Neji."

Guy turned towards Lee with a look of shock on his face. "Lee, don't you dare say that! You fought valiantly! You can't win every battle!"

Lee shook his head quickly. His usual bright eyes lacked their light. "No, I didn't. I could've gone farther! I could've opened more gates!"

Guy looked defeated at this comment. "You could've died out there if that happened!"

"It would've been better than looking like an idiot loser in front of the others."

Guy snapped at this comment, turning to glare Neji in the eyes. "How dare you say something like that? He is your teammate, your brother! You should praise his effort instead of pointing out his flaws!"

Neji glared back at his Sensei. "And you should have prepared him for the battle instead of making him a cheap imitation! Or even better, told him to go back to the academy!"

Ten-Ten stepped forward, putting herself between the combating males. "Guys-"

"Neji, meet me in the hall." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Now."

Neji's teeth were grit as he turned to leave, his hair whipping angrily behind him. He stormed out of the room silently.

Guy turned back towards Lee. It pained him to see the child look so defeated, especially when the tears down his face were of joy mere minutes ago.

"Lee, I apologize for what Neji has said. He is under a lot of stress for the upcoming round of the exam." Lee didn't pay his speech any attention, his eyes locked onto a spot on his sheet.

This only further saddened the Jonin. "Lee, don't take what he sa-"

"Sensei." The man turned slightly to gaze at Ten-Ten. Her face was one of sadness as well. "Just go talk to Neji. I'll handle this." She gave him a forced smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The man sighed in defeat and with one final glance made his exit.

The girl exhaled and made her way to Lee's side. She took a seat and leaned forward, staring into his black orbs. "Lee," she started softly, "I'm sure Neji didn't me-"

"Do you think I should have returned to the academy?"

The question caught the girl off guard. She never heard him sound so down, so defeated. "Lee, why would you say something like that?"

The boy didn't raise his head nor his voice. "Neji was right. I am holding you two back. I was always the weakest link, the one who needed to be saved." Tears began to flow down his face quicker than before. "I couldn't even defeat a shinobi younger than me! I can't use jutsu! How can I stand up to y-"

'SMACK!'

Lee's eyes widened at the stinging sensation on his cheek. He glanced up at the girl and was surprised at her expression. It was a mixture of anger, sadness, and disbelief.

The boy lowered his eyes back to his sheets. "Ten-Ten-"

"Shut up, Lee!" The boy raised his eyes to hers. It pained him more than his battle to see tears welling in her eyes. "How dare you say those things? It's so selfish of you!" The tears began to flow. "All of the pain we went through together! All of the times you saved our asses with your punches and kicks?"

She rose to her feet, turning away to hide her tears. "We are a team, Lee. If it weren't for you, how would we deal with Guy?" She paused, taking in a deep breath. "Lee… we need you."

Ten-Ten paused as a hand grasped her wrist. She looked back and saw Lee holding her. His eyes were different; although they were still full of tears they now showed a fire she never saw before. Lee pulled her down forcefully, wrapping her in a deep hug.

"Ten-Ten… I'm sorry."

The girl wrapped around him. She cried into his shoulder harder than she cried since her parents died. Her body wracked as she inhaled deeply.

Lee ignored the wet feeling of tears and snot seeping through his gown. He pushed his head in her hair, admiring the smell of lilacs.

After this ordeal, Lee made a vow to himself to never make her cry again. "I swear to you, Ten-Ten, that I will become stronger! I will continue to protect you, Guy Sensei, and Neji, no matter the cost!"

The girl pulled back and stared into his equally puffy eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek. "No."

Lee looked confused. "No?"

She gave him a smile as she wiped a tear off of his face. "If the cost is your life… then it isn't worth it."

Lee smiled at her for the first time since she arrived. "Ten-Ten… If it was your life or mine," he gave his widest grin, "then I would go out without a moments hesitation!"

The girl chuckled at his show of machoism. "Ok, Lee, then I will make sure to stay out of trouble. I will get stronger so you won't have to make that decision!"

"Then it's a deal!" Lee responded. He lay back onto his bed. "But first, I must get rest!"

The girl chuckled at his change in attitude. "Alright, Knucklehead, see you tomorrow, k?" She snickered as he began to snore. The kunoichi kissed him on the forehead before turning to the door. She paused and yawned, just realizing how tired she was. "Gosh, this was more draining than training!"

XxxoxxX

~Minutes Earlier~

Neji stood in the hall of the hospital, hands across his chest. His eyes studied his toes as he thought about his recent interaction with his team.

Sure, he may have been too tough on them. Sure, he could've been nicer. But he was dealt the hard hand all his life, and he knew that it only made you stronger.

Guy always told him to be more open with his team, and he had finally done it. He told them how he felt about the situation without holding anything back and he was the bad guy? It was outrageous!

He then heard the door open and out came his Sensei. The man's face looked passive, but his demeanor was tense.

"Follow me." With those words the man began walking to the entrance. Neji trailed him, keeping his distance from the man.

When they were outside Guy broke into a sprint. Well, it was more of a jog for the man but Neji had to use chakra to keep up. The area they were traveling was unfamiliar to Neji.

They soon slowed down and came to a stop at a gravestone. Neji gazed down at it and read the name. Might Dai. Wasn't hard to tell who this was.

Guy walked towards the grave and knelt down on his palms and knees, placing his head in the earth. Neji looked away from the embarrassing gesture. After a few seconds the powerful man rose to his feet.

"This grave belongs to my father." Neji silently kept his eyes on the stone, ignoring his teachers gaze. "He was a great man, my idol, yet he was misunderstood." His eyes traced the grave once more.

"My father… wasn't the greatest shinobi. He was a genin for much of my life." He paused, gathering his words. "He did, however, have the heart of a warrior."

Neji turned and met his Sensei's eyes. He could see the light that was missing returning. "My father always told me that it didn't matter who was stronger. It didn't matter who your parents were, your income, or even your status in the village that made you." The man turned until his eyes met his student. "What matters is how much heart you put into what you do."

Now the Hyūga was angered. "Are you saying that it's possible for a nobody to surpass someone born gifted?"

"What I'm saying," the man continued, eyes narrowing, "is that everyone had a chance to become great. As long as you persevere you can change your fate."

"Your fate is chosen before you are born." Neji met eyes with his Sensei. "It was fated for your father to be weak, and it was fate that made you the shinobi you are today. Fate also decided to have Lee lose to that sand kid."

Guy shook his head sadly. He walked towards his student and put a hand on his shoulder. "Where did I go wrong, Neji? Why can't you see that life is what you make it?"

The young Hyūga pulled away, turning his back on the man. "My fate was decided the day my father was taken."

Guy reached out as if to grab him but stopped. "I lost my father as well, but I didn't let it-"

"Don't you dare compare our circumstances!" Guy stepped back as if he was struck. Neji advanced on him, now in a frenzy of anger. "Was you father taken from you, to save another? Were you marked as a child without a say in the matter? No! So don't you patronize me as if you understand!"

Guy stared at his student with pity. He could see pain in the boys eyes. It looked as if he would strike him at any moment. The older male released a sigh.

"Neji, I'm sorry."

"Is this meeting over?"

The Jonin hesitated for a moment but nodded. His heart was heavy as the boy turned to stormed off.

"Oh, and Guy Sensei." The man's eyes raised to meet the boy, but his back was still turned. "I will be training with my Clan until the exams are over. I was told to inform you by my uncle."

Guy nodded in understanding, knowing the boy could still see it. With a swirl of leaves he was then gone from his sight.

The Jonin fell back onto his head at the grave. Tears streamed down his face as his hands tore the grass from their roots. "Father, what am I doing wrong? I've tried everything, but it seems I'll never be as good as you."

Unknown to him, a figure sat in the trees watching the scenario unfold. He smiled at the man on his knees, debating whether to end him on the spot. He thought better of it, thinking it would be too easy.

"Soon, my little Hyūga," he said under his breath, "you will soon be mine."

XxxoxxX

Another chapter, although it took forever and a day. I hope you guys are enjoying! I have a feeling you aren't, since my followers and favs are lower than some stories are after one chapter :(. But, I like the story, and have big ideas sooooo I'll keep it coming. Who knows, one day it may end up as a trope!

But anyways, I've been getting comments and messages about Yamcha being very violent. There's actually a reason! Think about it; in the Dragonball Universe he makes his Zeni by stealing from normal civilians. Not too hard. In this one however, he has to rob shinobi's as well, making him HAVE to be tougher. If he was as nice as the original Yamcha, he wouldn't be as successful in the shinobi world. Sound credible? Does to me! But anyway, thanks for reading


	7. Journey to the West City

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Dragonball. Yet. I never will... but a guy can dream.

Journey to the West City

On a hot, dry day an uncommon sight was seen taken place. The sun was slowly setting, leaving the sky painted a hue of orange. A large toad, bigger than most houses in the nearby village, was springing by, leaving a burst of wind in its wake. The face of the beast seemed annoyed, or angered even.

The most alarming sight of the ordeal was the fact that two old men lay across the head of the creature. They seemed to not be startled by the speed, and actually looked bored.

Every few seconds the toad would grumble in annoyance at the two perverts sat atop his head. All the geezers did was complain! It irked him to no end. The only reason that he was even IN this ordeal was because he lost a bet against Jiraiya..

"How do I look?" the turtle hermit asked as he straightened out his shirt. He was wearing his usual clothes, the only difference being that he wore a straw hat. Chakra had it stuck to him, the rim of the hat flapping in the wind. His staff was rested on his lap with a palm on either side of it.

"You look great!" Jiraiya said as he smiled at the older man. "The ladies at the party are gonna love you, I promise!"

Roshi grinned. "That's great, I've been really practicing my moves ya know!" He began waving his stick in the air and rotating his neck, or as he would like to call it, dancing.

"Ha ha maybe you should work on that some more. The ladies will be all over us, we are two of the most powerful beings on this planet, of course." Jiraiya couldn't help but grin. He wasn't sure about his master, but he knew that he was going to get lucky tonight. He always got lucky, being it with women or in a fight. A few shots and boasting about his achievements were more than enough to get the girls riled up.

"Hey Jiraiya, if you get me laid tonight I promise to teach you," a flash could be seen on his shades, "that technique."

Jiraiya looked at the old master with widened eyes. "Are you serious?" he asked. "That would make me, like, twenty times stronger!"

Roshi nodded, a small grin on his face. "Hey, when you're as old as me you have to leave something behind. You and Gohan were the closest things to kids I have left. Think of it as passing the torch, so to speak."

Jiraiya wasn't paying attention to anything that Roshi was saying. He was deep in thought, thinking about the power boost. The technique was only known by Roshi. It was self taught and no matter how much he pestered he couldn't get the man to teach him. 'If I get that power, maybe I can bring him back,' he thought as he stared off into space.

"Hey, Gambunta!" Roshi yelled as he tapped the great toad on the head with his stick.

Gambunta growled. "You old bat's better show some respect! You're lucky I'm even letting you on my head, you ungrateful old geezer."

"Blah blah, how long until we reach our destination? Your rough skin is really irritating my dogs!" As he said that, he wiggled his toes for emphasis.

A large vein appeared on the toad's head. "I could care less about your damn dogs! You sit back and wait until we stop! Believe me, I'm not enjoying this any more than you are!"

"OK OK, don't lose a wart, it was only a question." Roshi lay back on the toads head and looked to the stars. "Hey Jiraiya, when's the last time you've been to West City?"

"A couple of weeks ago. I passed through there on my way to do some research." His face became one of goofy lust. "And my oh my I enjoyed my findings."

"Really?" Roshi asked with excitement.

"Yes sir! Everyone there is always full of energy. Hell, they're so energetic, they just may all explode one of these days."

"Hmm... I'm enjoying the sound of this!" Roshi said with a grin. The men sat in silence for a few seconds, ignoring the angry mumble of their carriage.

"I wonder what Naruto's doing right now," Jiraiya asked as he continued staring out.

"I wonder how my cloud's doin'." Roshi added.

"Oh well, as long as the Kyuubi doesn't release we'll all be-" Jiraiya's eyes widened. He'd forgotten all about the Kyuubi! How could he let the boy run rampant without putting a stronger restraint on his seal!

"Relax, the beast isn't out," Roshi calmly stated. "You of all people should know that I'd be able to sense it."

Jiraiya hung his head. "You're right," he responded. "But after tonight, we go and find the kids. "Deal?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Roshi said with a wave.

"Well I won't be your transportation, you saggy skinned bastards."

XxxoxxX

Kurenai gripped a kunai as she slowly approached the figure. His hair was held in a long ponytail, which she had to admit complimented his one visible blue eye pretty well. He wore a black cloak with red clouds decorated on it. The robe was too big and hung loosely off of his frame. On his head was an Iwa forehead protector with a slash going through it.

The boy didn't look familiar at all. She checked her bingo books daily, and she didn't recognize him. Considering the damage he did to the city, it was no denying the fact that he wasn't to be toyed with.

"Naruto, Ino, Goku. Go and get the villagers to safety." As she spoke, her eyes never left the Shinobi, whom kept smiling at her. She couldn't see his hands since they were tucked in his cloak, but she could see them moving. "Bulma, get as far away as you can."

Naruto and Goku quickly ran to her side. "Are you crazy?" Naruto yelled while he grabbed a kunai. Goku swiftly held his power pole as he stared the guy down. "We came here as a team, and I never back down from a fight! And besides, he's barely older than me."

Deidara pointed at Naruto with pure fury. "Don't compare me to you, you little brat! My skill surpasses yours by light years, hm!"

Naruto pointed back at his fellow blonde teen. "As if! I'm going to be the Hokage someday, and I damn sure won't be stopped by you! Believe it!"

"Don't be foolish, boy." Naruto looked behind him and glared at the doctor. She passively looked back at the genin.

"Hey, Old Hag! I don't take orders from you-"

"He's a B ranked missing ninja, he goes by Deidara." At the mention of this, Naruto's eyes widened with realization. He looked back at the shinobi and grit his teeth while shaking slightly. "You're a genin whose barely had any experience, he'd wipe the floor with you."

Goku looked from the Shinobi, to Kurenai, and back towards the Shinobi. "Hey, I found him!" he said with a wide smile, causing everyone (including Deidara) to fall anime style.

Mark was the first to his feet. "You idiot, that doesn't mean he's missing! That means he betrayed his village and is really dangerous!"

"Oh," Goku said with a finger on his lip. He looked at Naruto and Ino. "Are you ready?" he asked as he returned his pole to his back.

"Y-yea," Ino said nervously. Her heart was pumping as she looked at the smirking nin. Terror had her body shaking, but she wasn't going to make it known to her allies.

"You bet!" Naruto yelled as he took off into the city.

"Hehee no fair Naruto!" Goku yelled as he ran behind his friend, Ino silently following the duo. Kurenai watched on as they disappeared into the city.

"Wait for me!" Mark yelled as he prepared to run after them.

"Mark." Mark froze and turned towards his mom. "Go and watch over the patients.

Mark looked back at his mother with tears in his eyes. "But moooom!"

"Is that sass?" she responded as she turned and glared at her son.

"N-no ma'am!" Mark screamed as he turned and ran back into the hospital, wiping the tears that were flowing down his face.

Deidara released a loud groan. "Did you guys forget I was here or something?" he asked the startled woman. "First, you give kids orders to run past me, and then you just talk like I'm not here. You really have a death wish, hm." As he spoke he slowly withdrew his hands from his cloak. Kurenai lowered herself into a defensive position, as her mother did the same. "I really could care less about you two, but the intense level of disrespect is the reason you must die, hm!" Mouth's on each of the boy's palms began smacking in unison. The ladies looked at it disgustingly, but were surprised as it began shooting out small clay birds.

"Dodge them!" Kurenai yelled as she threw kunai to intercept the projectiles. The birds exploded on contact, causing a large cloud of smoke to cloud their vision. The woman both covered their face with their arms to not inhale the dust.

"Look out!" The women quickly jumped out of the way as a large bird came flying out of the dust. On top of the bird was Deidara, grinning at the two. He raised his left palm and released a wave of grass hoppers that quickly began hopping towards the duo.

"Shit!" Kurenai cursed silently as she jumped in front of her mother while going through seals. "Katon: Wanyūdō! (Fire Style: Flame Wheel Jutsu!)" Kurenai blew out fire, which shaped itself into a rapidly spinning wheel. The wheel shot out at a rapid pace, and quickly cut into the oncoming clay bugs. The jutsu continued to fly towards Deidara, whom looked over his shoulder lazily at it.

"Who do you think I am, hm?" he yelled with a smile. He quickly turned towards the direction of the wheel and rushed towards it.

Kurenai grunted. This boy must be suicidal if he was going to collide head on with her jutsu. The boy jumped off of his bird and it collided head on, resulting in a large explosion.

The two woman covered their faces but couldn't stop the smoke from getting into their lungs, resulting in a deep cough from them.

"Mom, are you OK?" Kurenai asked between coughs.

"I'm fine!" the doctor replied. "Where's the kid?"

"He's," Kurenai looked around, but couldn't see the young one anywhere, "gone." Kurenai's eyes widened in realization. "It was a distraction! He just wanted to separate us from the kids!"

"But why?" the mother asked her daughter curiously. "Kurenai, is there something about those kids that you aren't telling me?"

Kurenai looked towards her mother. She opened her mouth and closed it back. She did this several times before looking back towards the city. "We have to get to the children," she said with a stern tone.

"What are you-"

"There's no time!" Kurenai said as she quickly darted towards the destroyed city.

"Not so fast." Kurenai halted as she heard the voice. In front of her a figure appeared. He was slouched over, and wore a similar black jacket as the young teen. His lower face was covered by cloth, and his head had five thick corn rows going down them.

"Who are you?" Kurenai asked the figure. She didn't have time for this!

The figure chuckled. "I am Sasori. I do not intend to kill you, but if you interfere, you must die."

XxoxX

"Come on, this way!"

Goku was running, carrying three dogs in his arms. Ino stood at the edge of the city, directing the villagers toward the entrance. Hundreds of blonde genin were running up and down the village, running into burning buildings saving both adults and children.

"Vincent! Cloud! Xana!"

"Woof woof!" All three dogs barked in unison as they ran towards their human owner. The young boy smiled at Goku.

"Thanks mister!" he said to a smiling Goku.

"No problem," Goku replied with a chuckle, scratching his hair embarrassingly.

"That's the last of em boss!" a clone said to the real Naruto with a salute.

"Alright, you guys lead these people to the nearest city. There goes the mayor, he should be able to help you."

"Yes sir!" The clone said as he ran towards the mayor.

"Whew, that was exhausting," Ino replied as she slumped onto the ground. She looked in the direction of the retreating villagers and smiled. "It feels good to save lives, though."

"Yeah, but now we have to save Kurenai Sensei!" Naruto said. He turned to run towards the hospital, but fell forward.

"Naruto!" Ino yelled, but before he could hit the ground, Goku caught him.

"Are you OK?" Goku asked with extreme concern in his voice.

"I'm OK, really!" Naruto said as he pushed Goku away. He crawled to his feet and flashed a smile, but quickly grimaced again and fell forward onto his knees.

"Naruto, don't push yourself!" Ino yelled as she ran to his side. "You've exhausted your chakra. You have to rest and recover."

"But we have to help sensei! You heard what the hag said, he's a B ranked criminal!"

"So what makes you think you have a chance to stop me?" The trio looked towards the voice and saw their blonde assailant. He was smirking at them, and the burning building behind him made him look that much more menacing.

"There he goes," growled Naruto as he struggled to his feet. "What did you do to sensei?" he demanded, while still wobbling on his feet.

"Watch your tone, punk," Deidara said with a chuckle. "I only need Whiskers. The other two of you can go!" Deidara started taking steps towards the trio.

"What are we going to do?" Ino asked. She was shaking on her feet, terrified of the fellow approaching her. Each step that Deidara took felt like a stake being driven into Ino's heart. She couldn't control the tremors going through her body. Her breathing increased to a rapid pace.

"If this guy killed Kurenai, how can we beat him?" she asked herself.

"What's the matter, cutie? You can't be cold, every building around here is on fire!" Deidara said with a laugh. Ino quickly caught herself and tried to calm down, but it didn't work.

"Hey," Ino flinched as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the face of Goku and saw him smiling. "You don't have to fight. I can handle him! I promise!"

Ino blushed at the comment given by the short fighter. She smiled and nodded at him.

"H-hey, don't forget about me!" Naruto yelled. He took a step forward as he spoke. He then fell forward, exerting the last of his chakra.

"Ino, get him out of here." Goku said sternly. His smile faded slightly, but he was still ready to fight.

Ino panicked. "But Goku, you can't beat him by yourself!" she replied. "You're not even a genin!"

Goku laughed. "It's OK, I'm really strong!"

Ino nodded at his confidence. "OK Goku, we'll be close. In case you need help," Ino whispered, which Goku responded with a nod. She lifted Naruto onto her shoulder and ran into the ruined city.

Deidara laughed, "So, the little monkey boy wants to play hero, hm? I think I have time to entertain him, if just for a moment."

Goku smiled and started doing stretches. "This should be fun!" he commented.

A scowl spread across Deidara's face. "Fun? You take me as a joke?" the missing shinobi yelled as he raised his chomping hands. "Prepare to meet my beautiful art, you piece of trash!"

XxoxX

The streets of Konoha was unbelievably quiet. Most of the Shinobi were either training or on missions. Sakura however was sitting alone at her training field.

After Naruto left, the town seemed to grow quiet. She never knew how much she'd miss the loud mouthed blonde. Although she wouldn't admit it aloud, he was what held their fragile team together. His rivalry with Sasuke to improve more and more. Their squabbles were always entertaining, and even though Naruto wasn't as good as Sasuke, he was quickly improving .

Ever since Naruto left, Sakura was all alone. Kakashi Sensei and Sasuke were constantly training, and she wasn't allowed to watch. Not to mention the fact that Ino was sent on a top secret mission. Sakura had to admit that she didn't have much friends, she really needed to get out more.

The pinkette ran a hand through her tattered hair. Who was she kidding, with this hair she'd be lucky if anyone even spoke to her. Even though Ino cut her hair into a cleaner fashion, she still felt really ugly. Her trademark was her long pink ponytail, and now that was gone.

"Alright guys, that's enough training for today. Same time tomorrow?" Sakura looked up as she heard the voice. She vaguely recognized it, she could only say that he was from this village. She saw three figures entering the training field and recognized them.

The first was a tall man wearing green spandex. His eyebrows were intensely thick, and he sort of reminded her of the genin that asked her on a date, Rock Lee. His name was Might Guy, one of the strongest Shinobi in the Leaf Village.

Directly behind him were the two genin, Ten-Ten and Neji Hyuga. The latter had an angered look on his face, while Ten-Ten's held concern.

"Yeah, I'm going to check up on Lee." Sakura could hear the remorse in her voice. Their Sensei's eyes went sad at the mention of his protege.

"That's nice," Guy said silently. "I'll be there later, I have something to do first." Guy turned and looked at Neji. "What about you? Are you going to check on your rival?"

Neji snorted at the remark. "He's no rival of mine," he said coldly. Ten-Ten flinched from his comment. Neji clenched his fist. "If he wasn't so weak, he would still be fighting. His destiny was to be destroyed, and that's exactly what happened."

Sakura covered her mouth as she looked towards the Hyūga. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were teammates, how could he be so cold?

Guy suddenly stopped walking, causing his genin to do the same. He stood silent for a few seconds, and then spoke. "Ten-Ten, you and Sakura go check on Lee."

Ten-Ten looked confused. "Sakura? I don't see her-"

Sakura stood up from the tree she was leaning on. "I'm here," she said softly. Ten-Ten looked at her and could see the hurt in her eyes. She nodded as she looked at her Sensei. Before Ten-Ten ran off, she looked over her shoulder at her teammate. His eyes held a stone look, and honestly the look frightened her.

"Let's go," Ten-Ten said softly. She and Sakura ran towards the village together, leaving the Sensei and student together.

The air between the two males seemed to thicken. Neji continued to stare into his sensei's back, getting angrier by the second.

"What do you want?" he demanded. He didn't have time for this, he could be training. He came on his day off from Hiashi just to train, not be lectured. It's not like he'd need it, he could beat that Uzumaki kid with little to no effort.

"Neji," Guy said quietly, "don't let evil consume you." Neji grit his teeth at this. "You are a talented shinobi, one of the best this village has seen in a long time. Your value to this village is great, and I wish to watch you blossom into the best that you can be."

"Whatever fate has set in stone for me, it's bound to happen," Neji said through grit teeth.

Guy sighed. He knew that he wasn't going to get anything else out of his student, that was just the type of guy that Neji was. He would, however, try his hardest to keep his student in the village.

"OK, Neji. You are dismissed." Neji nodded and quickly sprinted away. After this speech with his sensei, he really needed to release his anger. He felt bad for the tree that was soon to be the object of his frustration.

Unknown to the two shinobi, there was a figure listening to their conversation. He floated above the arena. He smiled as he watched the young Hyūga run off. The boy amused him very much, and he knew that he had to have this talented prospect. "Little Hyūga, you will soon be mine," he mumbled as he ran in the same direction.

XxxoxxX

A/N: Hello again! I'm back, sooner than you thought, huh? Well I just wanted to do it, so I did. But I've been getting messages about things that happened in the story different from canon and I'll address a few here.

Q: Why is Yamcha so brutal? In the show he wasn't nearly as mean!

A: Well think of it this way. In the show, he was a thief that robbed civilians, people not used to defending themselves. Here, he has to take things from shinobi. The overly goofy pushover that was canon Yamcha wouldn't make it in this fic so he had to toughen up!

Q: How are Hinata and Ten-Ten moving around? I thought they were hurt bad during the exams!

A: Yeah… you're right. The only answer I have is… plot convenience? Sorry guys, I really missed on that one.

Q: Where's the action? We want more Goku!

A: In due time, my faithful readers, in due time.

Anyway, here's too another chapter. Hope you all enjoy. Any questions? Leave it in a review and I'll respond! Happy midterms!


	8. Explosive Arts!

Explosive Arts!

Disclaimer: I do own Naruto and Dragonball! Well, I own a couple of games. I don't own anything else, so please don't sue me.

In the center of a destroyed city stood two young figures. As the sun slowly set on West City, smoke could be seen rising from the destroyed buildings and vehicles. A large group of people could also be seen being escorted away from the village, surrounded by many blondes in orange jumpsuits sporting a headband with the leaf symbol.

The tallest of the two was a blonde. He stood with his palms outstretched towards the smaller boy. His face held a furious snarl as he stared at the younger fighter.

Goku looked at the boy with a wide smile. He was lowered into a stance while holding a red pole in his hands. The boy seemed to not be aware that this battle could very well cost him his life.

This small detail only furthered the anger of his opponent. His face twisted into a feral scowl as he looked at the kid."Hm! You arrogant little prick!" he shouted as he threw two small birds at the boy.

Goku smirked even wider. He watched the birds approach and jumped when they were inches away. The two flew past Goku as he flipped in the air. While Goku was upside down, he saw the birds returning. The young preteen quickly thrust his pole into the ground, forcing him higher into the air.

Goku twirled and nimbly dodged the birds, he could feel the wind from their rapidly flapping wings on his skin. "Here I go!" he yelled as he cocked the pole back and swung it like a baseball bat. A loud crack could be heard loudly as the pole connected with one of the birds.

Deidara smirked as he looked at the display. "Idiot," he said under his breath as he placed his hands in the seal of confrontation. He saw a familiar glow from the bird. "Katsu!"

Goku's face changed from a smile to one of curiosity as he watched the bird glow. In a quick burst of light, the bird exploded in a loud bang, resulting in a scream from Goku. He was sent spiraling backwards into a building.

Goku slowly rose out of the rubble, brushing the dust off of him. "Oww, that hurt!" he yelled at the blonde. Deidara's only response was a grin and a point towards the boys direction.

The remaining bird followed suit as it too crashed into the building, causing a similar scream and explosion as before. This resulted in the entire structure collapsing on top of the boy.

Deidara smiled at his handy work, more than excited to see his explosions doing damage. "He won't be getting up from that any time soon!" he said with a small chuckle. "And now, I have a fox to catch!"

"You… you meanie!"

Deidara turned with a raised brow at the voice. The raven haired kid forced himself out of the collapsed building and to his feet.

He raised a hand towards the younger kid, the mouth on it chomping madly. "You should've stayed down, hm!"

Goku reacted quickly as more birds began to swarm at his direction. Learning from his previous mistake he turned tail and sprinted away from the attack. A look over his shoulder showed him that the creatures were rapidly approaching.

Goku turned towards the birds and quickly counted them, noticing that there were five. He shoved his pole into the ground with a shout.

"Power Pole extend!"

"Hm?" Deidara watched in amusement as the stick began to stretch, carrying the warrior into the air. Two of the clay birds crashed into it, quickly resulting in them to explode. Amazingly the boy continued to hold onto the trembling weapon.

The blonde raised his arms and the remaining explosives changed course and headed towards the rising boy. He smirked, knowing that there was no way he could avoid the-

"Flying Nimbus!"

Deidara was shocked once more as a golden cloud came zipping out of the air. It quickly reached the boy and he retracted his pole as he jumped onto his ride with a giggle. Extending the stick once more he struck and caught the closest bird, zooming past it as it exploded.

"What the hell?" Deidara grunted at the maneuver. The boy quickly destroyed the remaining bombs in a similar fashion and then turned his eyes on Deidara.

"Hey, mister," he yelled, "my grandpa said that fighting with bombs are dangerous! You could get hurt!"

The blonde shrugged, his loose cloak sliding down his frame, slipping his hands into the fabric. "Did he now? Well your grandpa is a fool, hm!"

The tailed boy's eyes narrowed at that proclamation. "You take that back!"

"Make me."

With that, the boy and his cloud raced towards the Akatsuki member.

The blonde withdrew both hands and thrust them forward. Two wads of clay were spit from the mouths and begin to swell and expands.

"Eww, gross!" yelled Goku.

Ignoring his outburst, Deidara smirked as the clay began to form. The two lumps merged into one great shape and continued to grow.

Goku gaped at the size of the beast. It now resembles a tan dragon, and was over ten times his size! The stone eyes stared into his raven gaze. They expressed no emotion as the blonde jumped on its back. Two large wings began to beat, pushing them into the air.

"Wow!" Goku exclaimed with bright eyes. "That's amazing! I've never seen a bird like that!"

The young Akatsuki member's eyebrows furrowed at the comment. "Learn to appreciate art, Brat! It's a dragon!"

Goku tilted his head, staring at the large creature. He quickly flew around it, taking in all of the features. "But it's a bird! See," he pointed to a wing, "those are it's hands!"

The anger flowing off of the blonde could be felt if one were close enough. This kid couldn't tell what his art was? But it was perfect! Sure, he could've added scales or even had taught it to blow fire but he only made it a couple of weeks ago!

No. He couldn't waste anymore time. It was time to end this, or at least play with him for a while. His sights were on his target and nothing more.

Placing his hands together Deidara began to gather chakra. In a grunt he created four clones- two explosive, two shadow. "Listen, Brat, you put up a good fight. You were annoying as hell though, and your disrespect for art is unforgivable." Each clone jumped off of the dragon and faced Goku. His eyes hardened as he stared at the group.

"And for that," the four spoke in unison as the original turned and headed the opposite direction, "you will be defeated, hm!"

Goku didn't look frightened at all; in fact, he was a tad bit disappointed. After his few bouts with Naruto, his understanding was that all clones were the same. "I can fight a lot more clones and win!"

Each blonde glared even more fierce at the proclamation. Instead of voicing their concerns they decided to take action.

"Yikes!" Goku quickly twirled his cloud and sped off as the tan creatures began to give chase. A peek over his shoulder showed a large group consisting of bugs and birds were trailing at a rapid pace.

Thinking quickly, the boy began to gain altitude. He reached into a sack that Naruto gave him and withdrew a handful of the throwing stars. At first his aim was worse than Naruto's (whom isn't good at all says a lot), but after Bulma made an off hand comment of the form being similar to skipping rocks it became dangerously accurate.

The boy quickly threw a handful and smirked at the explosions that followed. He continued flying backwards and shucking the weapons while laughing at the results.

He wasn't prepared for the person that quickly wrapped their arms around his midsection.

"Boom," he heard the whisper and quickly went on the defensive.

The boy threw an arm in the face of his glowing attacker, causing him to lose his grip. A shout and a downward swing with his trusty pole sent the figure careening to the ground, right into the waiting mob of clay creatures. The clone blasted and set off a chain reaction. The pile began to rapidly detonate, sending a shock throughout he city. The shockwave sent the cloud spinning out of control.

Goku shouted as he was sent airborne. He crashed into a shop full of capsules, knocking into a shelf that caused the products to rain on his head.

"Ow…" he groaned while rubbing the tender area. He rose to his feet and stretched his legs, making sure everything was in working order. After a nod he hastily exited the building.

Standing in the boy's path was none other than the three blonde copies, each sporting equal grins.

"Well well," the center blonde said with a slow clap, "the little monkey is pretty fast!"

The one to his left grunted in agreement. "Yeah. Too bad he doesn't seem to possess any jutsu!"

Goku growled at the remark. "I can fight!"

The first clone chuckled. "Oh yeah? Show me."

The tailed boy rushed forward in a blast of sand, pole poised to strike. The clones on the ends rushed forward with kunai in hand while the middle one crossed his arms across his chest.

Goku thrusted the weapon forward with both hands and blocked the approaching weapons. With a shout he pushed forward and sent the men back and leapt over them, fist held back to strike the one in the back.

"Not yet!" One of the clones from behind grabbed his ankle and pulled him back into the fist of the other. Goku grimaced from the impact on his shoulder and turned to block the next strike. When the fist connected with his guard he wrapped his tail around the one holding him and twirled until he was behind him.

"Boo!" Goku struck him in the temple and jumped away as he burst in smoke, kunai landing in his previous spot. The young warrior rushed towards the attacker and vaulted into the air with his pole over his head.

"You will not win, hm!" The clone sunk into the ground right before the attack could land. Goku looked at the ground confused. He rose his eyes to meet the other fighter.

"Hey? Where did you go?"

The clone simply smirked. "Right behind you.

Goku's eyes widened and he rolled forward. A kunai cut a few hairs off of his head. He rose his pole to meet the weapon and their deadly dance continued. Blade met rod over and over and neither fighter wanted to give.

The clone that wasn't fighting sighed. He wasn't great with taijutsu and he could tell that the boy had a slight advantage. Well, might as well strike when the iron is hot.

After another stalemate between weapons the armed blonde sent a kick into the smaller boy's chest. Goku flew backwards and jumped to his feet and was shocked by the sight. The clone that he wasn't fighting was now standing inches before him with a smirk on his face. But Goku wasn't worried about the smile in the slightest.

He was worried about the glow that was coming from the skin of the man. Although he wasn't the smartest kid, he knew what was coming next.

"Katsu."

XxxoxxX

A breathless Neji stood in the training facility of the Hyūga compound. He was completely fatigued, it was even hard to hold up his Byakugan! He deactivated his blood line limit as the single dummy that he was attacking burst into a pile of splinters as if it just realized the damage dealt.

Neji closed his eyes as he fell to the floor. He didn't know why he was training so hard, his match was going to be quick and easy. First training with his over enthusiastic sensei and then doing his own personal regimen was very strenuous on his eyes. Neji had been working out non stop since the end of his match with his cousin Hinata Hyūga .

The teen sucked his teeth at the mention of the girls name. He was full of rage at the pain that his thorough defeat of the heir to his clan brought to him. His mind couldn't help but to wander to his first return after her defeat.

Xxx flashback xxX

At the end of the administering of the match ups for the next round, Neji was the first to leave. He was filled with disappointment of his two teammates; they both lost in their matches.

Neji was especially upset with Rock Lee. He watched the boy go from a pathetic excuse of a ninja and blossom into one of the greatest taijutsu users that he'd ever encountered, even considering him to be a rival. Now to see him destroyed by a rival ninja village was an insult.

The boy beat Lee with very little effort. He barely moved out of his standing position, and he even looked bored through most of the fight. Neji was more than sure that he could have defeated the boy without a single problem.

In a swirl of leaves, a shinobi appeared in the front of Neji. He recognized him as Zuko, one of the branch members of his clan.

Zuko was what you would expect from a Hyuga, stern, quiet, and damn near the most unfriendly guy you would want to be around. He had a long ponytail that was a deep blue and wore a white robe. His pupil-less eyes glared at his cousin.

Zuko was two years behind Neji in age. He was to take the genin test in a few weeks and everyone knew he would pass. He was the new Hyūga prodigy, one from the Main Branch at that. He and Neji were like night and day. He was adored by the girls and relished in it, being in a relationship with some Nara at the time. He loved to hang with his friends. When around anyone he had a smile on his face. The only other Hyūga to do that was his own aunt Hana, and she died years ago. He grinned non stop, exposing his chipped front teeth to anyone he spoke too.

Well, anyone but Neji.

"Neji, you are requested by Hiashi-sama," the boy said. Neji could hear a tone of anger in the voice, but he ignored it. The kid wasn't near his skill level, no matter how much of a genius he thought he was.

As Neji nodded in response, the child disappeared just as quickly as he came.

A few minutes later and Neji was walking through the compound into the familiar room of Hiashi. He ignored the glares he was given by the Main House members, as well as the looks of grief from the Branch House members. He stoically looked forward as he stood outside of his uncle's room.

A glance to the right and he saw the chip toothed bastard grinning at him. A chill suddenly went down his spine. This was going to be bad.

If only it were that easy.

"You may enter, Neji." Neji hesitated for a second, and then pushed open the slides. Inside the room Hiashi was standing facing Neji. His eyes were shut tight and his arms were folded across his chest. Behind the man stood the Hyuga clan elder.

Neji quickly knelt in front of his leader. "Did you request me, Hiashi-sama?" he asked with a barely concealed annoyance.

To a Jonin level Hyūga, it was as plain as day to see. Hiashi looked at Neji with a stern expression. The young prodigy held so much promise, but he was just so hard to deal with. He easily let his emotions control him, and the man was tired of it.

"Neji, I'm sure you know why you're here," Hiashi said, which caused a visible cringe from Neji.

"To congratulate me for my spectacular victory?" Neji asked with feigned innocence. Unfortunately for him, his lord could hear it.

"Don't act oblivious, Neji!" Hiashi yelled uncharacteristically. His face showed a flash of anger, and a large blast of killer intent was felt throughout the entire compound. "How dare you hurt Hinata in such a way, and in front of the entire village no less! Do you have no respect for your superiors? For your family? And when you knew the fight was over you continued to attack! Did you not think I would see where that last strike was aimed for?"

'Of course, the heart,' thought the boy, but he wouldn't dare to voice it. Neji trembled at the anger Hiashi displayed. His breathing was ragged as he shuddered from the killer intent displayed. He fought with all of his will but he could not stop the shaking.

Neji flinched as he felt his leaders foot shuffle. He prepared himself for the familiar pain that came from the cursed mark being released. To his surprise it didn't come.

"Get up."

Neji glanced towards his uncle and was shocked to see him in the gentle fist formation. "Attack me," was the low order given by the leader.

Neji looked at Hiashi with wide eyes. He was being ordered to directly attack the leader of their clan! As much as he wanted this opportunity at one point in his life, even minutes ago, he was completely frightened by the man now.

"I-I can't Hiashi-sama," he said with a quiver in his voice.

"Do you dare deny an order from me, Neji? Did your victory from my weak daughter delude you in to believing that you are better than us?" Hiashi took a step towards the scared boy. After a few seconds of silence he stomped his foot. Dust particles flew into the air from the force and slowly drifted upon his form.

"I said GET UP!"

The genin scrambled to his feet; he shakily moved into the gentle fist form. Neji gulped as he looked at his uncle's stance and noticed that it was flawless. He stared into his opponents eyes and was shaken even further.

Hiashi's glare intensified. "Well, attack me! Just like you did my seed." As he saw Neji's reluctance, he decided to push him even further. "What kind of prodigy are you? A real prodigy would always take the chance to best his superior."

Neji glared at his uncle; the man was right. Neji waited a long time to be able to beat this man. The man that branded him. The man that forced him into the life of a servant.

The man that killed his father.

Neji's resolve strengthened as he looked towards the older Hyuga; his Byakugan activated subconsciously. He released a low growl as he charged at the older man.

He wished he didn't.

As Neji swung forward, he didn't see his uncle move. But he definitely felt it.

"Two palms!" He was quickly caught in the gut with two quick palm strikes, resulting in him releasing a scream. Neji coughed up spit from the impact of the attack.

"Four palms!" Before Neji could hit the ground he was quickly attacked, causing him to choke on his spit. He could vaguely taste vomit on his tongue.

"Eight palms!" Neji's feet finally hit the ground, yet he regretted it. His body was being knocked back as it was rapidly assaulted causing him a great amount of pain.

"Sixteen palms!" Neji could feel his consciousness slipping away, only to be woken back up by more strikes. His knees could barely hold him up.

"Thirty two palms!" The screams of the young genin could be heard from miles out. Neji's body felt like jelly. He was unable to access his chakra, or even feel anything. As the last hit landed to him, he flew back a couple of feet and landed hard on the wooden floor.

As Hiashi finished, he looked down at the pained boy. He was shocked to see Neji still awake after the assault. The one thing that caught his attention was his eyes.

Neji's orbs were lit by an invisible fire. As he lay on the ground he continued to glare with his last bit of strength. Blood and vomit stained his teeth and his breathing was labored.

"Should I take him to the infirmary?" the elder asked with a concerned look on his face. He could see the boy fighting to maintain his consciousness

"No," Hiashi held his hand into a single seal that Neji knew well. His eye's widened in fear before the pain attacked him.

"GGGGAAAAAAAAURRRRRGGGHHHH!" The previous attack that the elder sent toward Neji was nothing; he would redo that pain tenfold instead of dealing with this one. He could feel burning in his skin; his head felt like it was being assaulted by hundreds of Uchiha fireballs at once. As much as Neji wanted to grip his head, he couldn't move his body at all. The boy's screams echoed loudly throughout the village.

After thirty seconds of agonizing pain, Hiashi finally released the seal. Neji quickly fell into a deep slumber, obviously fatigued from his injuries.

Hiashi stepped towards the exit. "Now, leave him and let him suffer. When he wakes again, release the seal once more and then get him some help," he said as he walked out of the room.

Xxx end flashback xxX

Neji groaned in pain and frustration. It has been almost a week since his encounter with Hiashi and he still wasn't over it. All he could do was wonder why did fate seem to be against him.

No matter how strong Neji became, he would always be a servant. He was fated for this life, just as his father before him. Hell, his children were destined for the same treatment.

Neji exhaled, he could feel his body tensing up. He looked to the window as he heard a bird singing. His eyes lingered on the small creature, imagining if he was free like it. The song it sung seemed to be one of pure pleasure. The further the bird got away from the compound, the angrier that he became.

"I can free you."

Neji quickly jumped to his feet and activated his Byakugan. He stared down his assailant. There was a man, he looked to be around forty years old. The man wore a pink long coat with the kanji for kill on the front, right on top of his heart. He had small beady eyes, a pointy nose, a small thin mustache, and a long black ponytail. The man's face held a confident smirk.

"Who the Hell are you?" Neji demanded. He was surprised when the man began chuckling.

"Neji Hyuga, prodigy of the Hyuga clan." Neji's eyes narrowed as the man began speaking with a high pitched voice. "A member of Team Guy, teammates Rock Lee and Tenten. Son of Hizashi Hyuga. Must I go on?"

Neji stared at the man with a glare. "That still doesn't tell me who you are!" he growled. A thought then came into his head. "And how the hell did you get past the guards?"

"Ah ah ah!" the man said as he wagged a finger in the air. "I have one question and one question only. I know your condition. I know the feeling of being caged, being someone's servant. Do you want to know the difference between me and you?" Neji looked at the man with slight interest. "I freed myself!" he hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked through grit teeth. He was curious to know exactly what the man's point really was, yet also wanted to call the guards.

He could sense the power that the figure possessed. His chakra coils were thicker than normal and his aura seemed to be dark. By comparison he was a pebble in a pile of bricks compared to the man.

The man turned around and looked over his shoulder. "I can show you power, a way to get out of this Hell you call life. When you are prepared to get stronger, you will find me."

As the man finished his story, he jumped out of the window. While standing on the windowsill, he glanced back and smiled at Neji. "You will find me," he said as he did the unexpected.

He flew away.

Neji's face showed shock, something that was rare for the Hyuga. His mind raced as he thought about the man that recently left.

Who was he? How did he know so much about him? And why did he seem so damn familiar?

And more importantly, how the Hell could he fly?

Neji figured that he was finished training for the day. For now he was going to rest and think things over. The more he thought about the man, there was only one thought on his mind.

His freedom.

XxoxX

"This is soooo boring!" a disgruntled Mark yelled as he sat beside Kiba's bed. He was beyond aggravated. He had to sit and babysit two stupid humans, as well as a vomit scented pup while Naruto and Goku were out playing hero. How was he supposed to show the world his ultimate moves if he was reduced to this?

"Shut it, shrimp," Kiba growled, "you aren't trained to combat shinobi, you'd only get in the way." He looked down at his bandaged body. "If only I wasn't blind sided by that bandit I'd be out there too!"

"Don't talk to me like that, pup! I could kick your ass!" Mark yelled while pointing at Kiba.

This irritated Kiba, and he growled low. "Watch your mouth, you're nothing more than a kitten trying to play with the big dogs."

As the boys argued, they didn't hear Hinata stirring. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Akamaru barked to catch Kiba's attention.

"Hinata! I'm sorry, did we awake you?" he asked. Although the boy was usually a hot head, he stayed calm around Hinata. He hated to upset the shy girl.

"K-kiba?" she said weakly. Hinata raised a shaking hand and saw that it was bandaged. "What happened?"

Kiba opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Mark jumping in front of Hinata. "Hey there, pretty girl! I'm Mark, and I saved you all from the big bad bandit! He thought that he was tough, but I showed him the moves I learned from watching Bulk Bogan and I totally domin-oof!" Mark went crashing to the ground as Kiba punched him on the top of the head, causing a large knot to appear.

"Don't you lie to her, you peace of trash shinobi wanna be!" he yelled angrily. "You didn't save us! I'd rather accept being saved by that loser Naruto than you-"

"Naruto?" Hinata said in a surprisingly loud voice as she sprung to a sitting position. She remembered being saved by a person, she just couldn't remember if it was him. She did however remember a flash of orange before she fainted. She pulled the covers over her heating face. "Where is he?"

Kiba smirked. Even when Hinata was beat up, she still worried about her crush. "Apparently he's out there fighting some B ranked ninja." As Kiba saw the startled look in Hinata's eyes, he quickly continued. "Relax, he's with Kurenai-sensei." This caused Hinata to calm down, just a bit.

Hinata looked at her body, just realizing the extent of the damage. Her hands were bandaged heavily and her chest area was as well. She was scared for the safety of her friend, and was sad that she couldn't help him. Activating her Kekkei Genkai showed that her injuries were taken very good care of, as well as her companions.

Mark crawled to his feet, still a bit groggy from the attack on his head. "So, this Naruto guy... is he your boyfriend?"

Hinata's eyes widened and her face turned a deeper shade of red. "M-my... my b-b-b-boyfriend," she whispered as the heat in her face intensified.

"Here we go," said Kiba nonchalantly as he watched Hinata faint into the bed.

As if on cue, Bulma walked into the room. She walked right over to Mark.

"What happened to you?" she said as she pointed to the mark on his head.

"I fell," he respond with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Yeah, onto my fist," Kiba said with a grin as he went back onto his bed. He had to look cool in front of the babe!

"Anyways, I have a question," she said with a dismissive hand wave, "where does this hospital keep their drugs?"

Mark looked at Kiba with a sly smile. "I knew she was too pretty to be that innocent," he whispered louder than intended. He wasn't expecting the vicious punch that was delivered onto his head, leaving him with a matching knot.

"Tell me where the damn drugs are!" she yelled this time, losing her calm demeanor.

"Alright alright! They're on the-"

Bulma gripped Mark by the back of his shirt and pulled him out of the room. "Show me, because I don't have time to be looking into every room for these things."

"I... I can't breath!" Mark hissed out as he waved his hands in the air.

"If you can talk, you can breath! Now hurry!" her voice echoed into the hall.

Kiba stared at the door as the two disappeared down the hall. "Man, and I thought Ino was a bitch..."

Akamaru whined in agreement.

XxxoxxX

In an abandoned capsule store, Ino was sitting over Naruto. She was slowly channeling chakra into his weak body. Although she was a poor healer, it seemed to be working as his injuries were quickly closing before her eyes.

Naruto was angrily glaring at the wall. "Dammit! How come I have to be low on chakra!" he shouted with an angered tone.

"Well, I'm not sure if you remember, but you kind of created around five hundred clones. Plus you were tired from traveling the desert, and not to mention that you used chakra to carry Kiba-"

"Alright! I get it!" Naruto groaned as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm just mad that Goku gets to save the day!"

Ino couldn't help but chuckle. Even in the direst of situations, Naruto still wanted to be the hero. "Well I'm going to heal you as much as I can. You can use it much better than I can."

"Thanks Ino," Naruto said with a smile. "Hey, Ino?" Naruto started as his face took on a sad tone. "How come you are being so nice to me?"

"Hm?" Ino said with confusion. She didn't expect that question to come from the boy.

"I mean, in the academy, you and everyone else was mean to me except, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata. I just want to know, why are you acting different now?"

Ino's chakra began to falter, her hands losing most of it's green glow. She pulled away from the wound and looked to the ground.

"Well… I hate to say it, but I was only mean to you because it was cool." At the boy's hurt expression she quickly continued. "I've never not liked you honestly. Did you ever notice that when the kids tried to get physical, I'd start up a game of Missing Nin and Anbu?"

Naruto's eyes widened at this. It was actually true. When he would get bullied, Ino would always send a line and get everyone's attention onto her. He always thought she was just doing it for the spotlight but now…

"You're a sweet boy Naruto." This caused the boy to blush. "You were always nice, and you're a blond like me. And besides," Ino said with a slight smirk. "You're kind of cute too!"

Naruto's face turned into a deep shade of crimson. Did she just call him cute? "R-really? You think so?" Naruto said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, all of us Blondes are!" she said with a laugh.

"Aww, so does that mean me as well?"

Ino froze as she heard the voice whisper in her ear. She turned slowly and saw the sick smile that Deidara held on his face. "I must thank you for the compliment. For that, I won't kill you."

Naruto quickly sprung to his feet and faced the boy. "Where's Goku?" he demanded.

"Please, step aside and I won't hurt you," Deidara said with a smile. "We could actually have some... 'fun' after wards. 'Cause honestly, you're cute too hm." He tilted his head. "Hm, you actually kind of look like me!"

Ino stared at the boy in shock. She couldn't stop the shivering in her legs if she wanted too. She slowly took a step back, bumping into Naruto.

"I asked you a question, dammit!" Naruto yelled.

"He's dead, you'll meet him shortly," Deidara replied with a shrug. This caused a gasp from both Genin. "The clock is ticking," Deidara said. "It's either move or die."

Ino was terrified beyond believe. She could feel the killing intent flowing off of the boy in waves. If she didn't move, he would definitely kill her.

Deidara sighed. " Very well!" he said as he raised a hand to smack her.

Ino held her eyes shut, preparing for the impact. To her surprise, it never came. Ino opened her eyes to a sight that startled her a bit.

There stood Naruto, holding the guys hand in the air. As much as he tried to push, he couldn't move the boys hand by even an inch. Ino could see a shroud of orange chakra oozing off of him.

"N-Naruto?" Ino said under her breath.

Naruto glared daggers at Deidara, whom looked terrified of the boy. "I will not let you harm the second person that called me cute," Naruto said. Ino could hear a darker tone to his voice. This made her think of the day that he left the village. "Ino, run."

"W-what?" Ino said as she looked at the back of her blonde comrades head.

"I'm going to kill this guy, for Goku!" he said as he cocked back a fist and quickly punched Deidara through the wall of the building.

Ino was awoken from her fear as she heard the building trembling. She quickly ran out of the door, and looked back to see Naruto running towards a shocked Deidara. He was on all fours like an animal and she could hear him growling like one. He caught up to the enemy blond and punched swiped at him with his claws. The shriek could be heard from where she was standing, even over the falling building.

"N-Naruto... what are you?"

XxxoxxX

There's another chapter! We got to see Goku fight, before he has any of his signature moves, just punches, kick, and an awesome staff. We saw Naruto get his second compliment and learned that Ino isn't the attention craver like she seemed to be (at least in this story).

I didn't get reviews or messages for last chapter so no answers this time. I hope you guys enjoy, and also are pleased with my much quicker update schedule. If you celebrate Halloween, be safe out there tonight!

On another note, does anyone else own Xenoverse 2 on the PS4? If so, we can exchange gamer tags if you want.


	9. Pain Brings Power

Pain Brings Power

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Deidara rose to his feet after the punch from Naruto. He rubbed his jaw, and had to admit the brat packed a punch. A slow grin formed on his face as he saw the blonde quickly running towards him.

"So, you wanna play?" he asked as he created four more small birds. "Then let's play!"

Naruto glared his eyes more as he saw the rapidly approaching birds. He rose his forearms to guard, and was blown away as the first collided with him, causing a massive explosion that caused the earth to shake. The orange clad genin didn't expect that, nor the following explosions as the three remaining birds hit him and sent him to the ground

"Naruto!" Ino yelled as she looked on with tears. She couldn't believe that she just saw her classmate get killed right before her eyes. Ino fell to her knees and stared into the smoke cloud that came from the explosions.

Deidara smirked. "Art is an explosion," he said lowly. He rubbed the back of his head with a grin . "I hope I didn't kill him, Pein will definitely have my head."

Deidara slowly made his way towards the disappearing cloud. With the amount of chakra he had, Sasori was going to be an angry guy, considering he would have to carry him. He should've let the old bastard do the destroying of the city, then he wouldn't be so low on chakra. "Oh well," he said as he continued to smile. "First mission: Success."

XxxoxxX

"What was that?" Kurenai yelled as she witnessed the large explosions. She knew that Ino didn't know any jutsu that caused explosions, nor did Naruto.

"That was the end," Sasori responded in his deep monotone, causing Kurenai's eyes to widen. He turned away and looked towards the rising cloud of dust and smoke. "Deidara's just finished his first mission."

Kurenai stepped towards the ninja. "What are you saying?" she yelled at him. S ranked shinobi or not, she didn't care if her students were on the line. "Did he..."

"Kill them? Possibly," the doctor said matter of factly. As she noticed Kurenai tense up, she continued to speak. "The girl is the only one still there. The other two, I can't feel their chakra."

Kurenai fell to her knees. "N-no..." she said. "It can't be..."

"If Deidara killed him, I hope he's ready to take on that demon," Sasori grumbled low enough so that the women couldn't hear. The puppeteer stood still as he looked on. Something felt off, and his intuitions were usually always on point.

"Get up."

Kurenai looked towards her mother. She saw the lady removing her doctors coat, as well as her pants. She was wearing a ninja suit underneath, similar to the ones that anbu wore.

"W-what are you..." Kurenai started, but was cut off by her mother.

"I don't know about you, but I don't take kindly to being bossed around by a couple of thugs." She continued to speak as she tied her hair into a long blue ponytail. "This man came and killed my friends, as well as one of your students, and, correct me if I'm wrong, the son of Minato."

Kurenai looked at her mother with a shocked expression. She couldn't believe that she was prepared to throw her life away. As her mother finished her preparing, she continued to stare at her. In all of her life, she never saw this side of the lady.

"Kurenai, I see you have your father's eyes. Are you great at genjutsu?" her mother asked as she pulled a capsule out of a pouch on her waist.

"Y-yes," Kurenai said, still in shock at this new mother of hers.

"That's good," the older lady said. The capsule poofed open and she grabbed a long katana. The blade was long and slim, it looked sharp enough to cut through bone with no problem. The hilt of the blade was blue and gold, with black trimmings along it. She gripped the blade and turned towards Sasori. "I fight close. Cover me!" she yelled as she took off towards the man.

"W-wait!" Kurenai yelled to deaf ears, as her mom was already approaching the masked man.

Sasori lazily looked towards the approaching lady. As she swung at his head, he effortlessly leaned back to avoid the strike. The lady continued slicing at him, and he effortlessly dodged each one.

"You are starting to annoy me," he said with a low growl. "Begone!" Before the lady could register what happened, she released a pained scream as she was struck across the chest.

"Mom!" Kurenai yelled as she watched the lady fly back. The man revealed a long silver scorpion-like tail and quickly dispatched her mother with a single swipe.

The lady slowly stood to her feet and looked at Sasori. "Cheap shot, eh?" she said. "It's not nice to catch a lady off guard, you know.

Sasori snorted. "In case you haven't noticed, I could give a damn about chivalry. Do you check the gender of a bug before you smash it?" he drawled out.

The doctor scooped up her sword and looked back at the man. Now that he revealed his trump card, she had to find some way to dispatch it. She quickly glanced over her shoulder at her daughter, and saw a determined expression on her face. She couldn't help but smirk at that.

"If I'm a bug, I'd prefer to be a black widow!" she yelled as she charged back at the masked man. She jumped to attack high, and wasn't surprised as steel met steel. She pushed off of the tail and went through seals. "Raiton! Shokkubōru (lightning style: shock ball)!" A small ball of concentrated electricity was sent spiraling towards Sasori. The man nonchalantly swiped the ball away with his tail.

"I don't like to waste my time. You'll be dead in two minutes," he said with confidence. Sasori then saw a mist spreading across the plains. He glanced towards the raven haired lady and saw that she disappeared.

"How can she be dead in two minutes," he heard behind him. "If you'll be dead in seconds!" Sasori looked down as he felt a tree coiling around him. A thick vine also wrapped around his tail, preventing it from moving around. He saw the black haired lady poke her head out of the tree and stab him in the chest. As he looked down at the wound, he also saw a blade come from the front and stab him in the stomach.

"Got ya," he said. In a split second, his tail was free of the vines. It whipped backwards at first, knocking the Jonin out of her own genjutsu. At the same time that she thudded on the ground, a sickening squelch could be heard.

As Kurenai shakily rose to her feet, the sight in front of her sickened her. The mans long tail was sticking straight out, and at the end of it was her mother.

"No!" Kurenai yelled at the top of her voice. She flinched as Sasori casually tossed the lady on the ground in front of her.

"If you have any last words, say them." he said as he stared on in amusement.

"Mom!" Kurenai rushed to her mother's side and lifted her head onto her lap. She couldn't stop the flow of tears that streamed down her face. Her mother stared at her with a loving expression.

"Kurenai... I'm sorry..." she said weakly.

"Don't speak, save your strength!" Kurenai responded. She held her hand over the fist sized hole in the ladies chest and channeled chakra into it.

"No, save yours," her mother said. "Take care... of M-Mark. H-h-he wants to b-be a f-f-fighter... Make him s-strong..." she said as her head fell limp.

Kurenai stared at the limp figure in her arms. She couldn't register what just happened. She just lost her mother. The mother that she was seeing for the first time in years. There was only one thing that she could do.

Cry like the little girl that her mother remembered.

Sasori looked at the scene in front of him. His cold heart couldn't help but feel for the lady. He knew the feeling of losing his parent, not in front of him but still. He didn't have it in him to finish the girl off.

But if she provoked him, he would unite them once again.

XxoxX

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He sat up slowly and rubbed his throbbing head. The last thing he remembered was feeling explosions rock his body. He quickly looked at his arms and saw that they were free of any scars. "Weird..." he said as he rose to his feet.

It was then that Naruto realized his surroundings. He was standing in what appeared to be a sewer, with water up to his ankles. He could hear the sound of dripping, and it just made his surroundings even more creepy.

"Might as well walk around," he mumbled as he rose to his feet. Each step that Naruto took echoed, making him realize the size of this place. It had to be gigantic! "I hope there isn't any ghosts in here.." he mumbled and then froze. "Dammit, why'd I have to say ghosts?" he said as he quickened his pace.

After what seemed to be an hour, Naruto froze at a cage. The cage was humongous! He could only wonder what was hidden behind it. He noticed that the top of the cage had a single sheet of paper that said seal.

After a minute of deciding what to do, Naruto finally decided to take a peek into the cage. It couldn't hurt to see what was inside, could it?

Naruto slowly walked to the cage. After taking a deep breath, he slowly leaned in.

Naruto nervously looked, but after not seeing anything happen he decided to get bold. "Hey! Anybody home!" Naruto heard his voice echo, but no response. He then decided to lean onto the cage.

Big mistake.

Naruto swiftly jumped back with a shriek as a large clawed paw reached for him. He fell to his butt, and looked into the cage. He was shocked to see two large slanted pupils glaring at him. "Wh-wh-wh-what's th-th-that!" he yelled in a high pitch.

The clawed paw continued to reach through the bars at him. He saw a large row of teeth, each tooth was larger than him in size. The face leaned closer and showed to be a fox.

Naruto's eyes widened with fear. It was the Kyuubi.

"I'll kill you, you brat!" it yelled at the terrified blonde. Naruto crawled away quickly, trying to hide the tears that started to flow. The fox glared at him with an intense snarl on his face. It then sat up and glared at the young blonde.

"Are you..." Naruto said weakly. "The Kyuubi?"

The large fox snorted. "No, I'm a freakin' pixy. Of course I am, you half pint piece of shit!" it growled at him. Naruto could feel the large amounts of killer intent washing off of the demon in waves.

"Where am I? How did you get out!" Naruto yelled.

"I didn't get out, but if you lean on my cage again, I most definitely will!" The demons large nine tails swished behind him and Naruto could feel the power washing over him in waves. He was stunned at how this demon could be inside of him. "This is your mind, you shouldn't be surprised how empty it is. You're brain is empty, after all."

Naruto took offense to that and decided to get brave. "You leave me alone, you big fur ball! You're stuck in here whether you like it or not!"

"Quiet!" Naruto froze as he saw the look of evil anger in the demon's eye. "Don't you DARE speak to me in such a way you insignificant human, do you understand me?" he more demanded than asked. After Naruto nodded furiously, the demon smirked. Nothing was more amusing than seeing fear in the eyes of those beings that tried to enslave him. "Good. Now let me make myself clear, I would love to see you dead," Naruto's eyes widened at that as he continued to shake, "but that would mean that I would die to. In case you didn't notice, that blonde bastard is about to end your pathetic life. You would have been dead a long time ago if it weren't for my help. Now, tell me insect, do you want to die today?"

Naruto glared at the demon. As much as he was scared, he wasn't going to let him speak to him like that. "NO I don't want to die. And in case YOU didn't notice, you live inside MY head." The fox glared at the smaller being. "And this brain is small as you've pointed out, there isn't enough room for the two of us."

"So what, are you going to kick me out," the fox grinned at him. "I would love that, very much actually."

"No, if you're going to live here, you have to pay rent! Give me some power, so I can toast that bastard!"

The demon looked at Naruto with an amused smirk. As much as he hated the way this kid was talking to him, he admired his guts. His red chakra began to leak out of the cage and bubble at Naruto's feet.

"I'm giving you this, but not to help you brat, but to keep you alive so I can kill you myself.

Naruto smirked as he felt the power of the chakra. He felt unbelievably strong, Hell he felt that he could beat Kakashi-sensei!

"Now get out of here, and don't disgrace my name!" the Kyuubi yelled as Naruto was forcefully expelled out of his mind.

XxxoxxX

Deidara continued to smile as he stepped towards the unconscious genin. The boy was durable, he still was intact despite the explosions that racked his figure. At least he didn't have to deal with Pein.

Deidara froze as he felt a spike of chakra. He continued to stare ahead as he noticed red chakra bubbling out of the young boy in front of him.

"Crap, I gotta end it now!" he said as he gripped a senbon and prepared to throw it at the boys heart. Screw Pein, he'd go into hiding before he let the Kyuubi kill him. "Die!" he yelled as he swung his arm to throw the needle.

Deidara was shocked as he felt someone enter his head. He was standing in a black area and was shocked to see the blonde girl grinning at him.

"Dammit, what kind of jutsu is this?" he yelled at the girl.

The smirking blonde girl looked at him. "I'm a Yamanaka!" she said proudly.

Deidara growled at the girl. "Get out of my HEAD!" he yelled as he ran towards her.

"Gladly!" she smirked as she left his mindscape

Deidara grabbed his head as he realized he was back in control. When he looked forward, he realized the blonde was inches from his face.

"Crap," was all he could mumble before he was rocked with a punch so hard that his body jerked back before he was sent flying away. Deidara wasn't given a moment to rest as he saw the boy running quickly after him. The Akatsuki member was kicked hard in his stomach, which caused him to cough, then punched into the jaw. He felt heat radiating off of the boy with each hit that landed.

Ino could only look on with both amazement and fear. Her friend had completely changed. He was no longer the Naruto she knew, the funny, sweet boy that she grew to like.

No, he was a monster.

The boy's face held a grin, one that was much too evil to be his own. The whiskers on his face darkened, and two tails made of chakra came from his backside. His hair was more spiky than before and his claws stretched like an animal.

Naruto was beating the boy senseless. His style was unlike any taijutsu she had ever seen. He was running on all fours like a Inuzuka, but he was sloppy with it. He also had something that shocked her.

He had a shroud of red chakra. And also a tail made of said chakra.

Ino decided that it must have been some hidden Kekkai Genkai that he had and just awakened. Whatever it was, it came just in time to save them from total destruction. She just hoped that he wouldn't harm her in the process.

XxxoxxX

Sasori continued to stare at the lady crying over her lost mother. He was getting tired of it, and he also noticed the spike of chakra that could only be the Jinchuuriki. He took one final look at the lady and sighed.

"She's not going to come back just because you cry over her. Do something productive with yourself, get stronger. Don't let her memory go to waste," he said as he began to walk away. He noticed that this only caused the lady to cry harder, and honestly at this point he could give a damn.

"Fire!" he heard a yell. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a small needle being shot at him. He effortlessly dodged it and glared at the attacker.

There, he saw an unexpected sight. There stood a young blue haired girl, holding a gun. Beside her was a small figure with a bowl cut of black hair. He noticed the look in the boys eyes and could only deduce that it was the dead woman's son.

"Mommy!" he yelled as he rushed to the ladies side. As he neared the corpse, his tears flowed more fluently. He couldn't move, he just stood frozen in fear at the sight of his sister with his dead mother on her lap.

The boy looked at Sasori with a look of rage in his eyes. If the kid was actually any threat, he would have surely been afraid. Luckily, he was not.

"You bastard, you killed my mother!" the boy screamed as he looked towards the masked bandit. Sasori chuckled.

"Wouldn't that make you the bastard?" he said dryly. This caused an expression of hate to cross the young boys face, and his sister to cry even harder.

Bulma looked at Mark and knew what he was about to do. "Mark no!" she yelled as he took off towards the man.

Sasori sighed. He didn't want to have to kill the child, but he was getting really pissed at this situation. He raised his tail once again and quickly stretched it to impale the boy.

"Mark!" Kurenai shrieked as she watched wide eyed as the blade continued to stretch towards the boy. Mark's eyes widened in realization. He realized too late that he just signed his death warrant.

In the blink of an eye, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed around the area. Sasori glared hatefully as he realized the scene in the front of him. His tail was in an epic war with a blade, held by a gargantuan toad. This could only be one person.

"Jiraiya," Sasori said as he jumped backwards to avoid a spiraling ball of chakra that left a huge crater where he stood.

"Ah, Sasori of the Red Sand. You have quite the bounty on your head!" Jiraiya said with a stern expression. Behind him, Master Roshi was holding the raven haired warrior, who was having a break down, crying in his arms.

"As much as I'd love to fight, times up," Gamabunta said, which received a nod from Jiraiya. The summon returned to his home world.

Sasori grunted. As much as he hated to admit it, this was a fight he had no chance of winning. "My quarrel isn't with you."

"No, it's with my student. So technically, yeah, it's with me." Jiraiya shifted his foot for better leverage and began charging a much larger rasengan.

Sasori quickly thought of a plan of action. He dropped the bandana off of his face and opened his mouth wide to reveal a cannon.

Jiraiya snorted. "Trust me, that won't work on me," he said.

"I know," Sasori said as he turned his aim towards the crying Kurenai. He fired a rapid volley of needles at the frightened lady.

"Crap!" Jiraiya quickly dispelled the giant ball and jumped in front of Kurenai. Quicker than the eyes could see, he went through the signs tiger, horse, boar, ram, rat and ended on snake. "Hari Jizō (Needle Jizo)!" he yelled as his hair wrapped around him and hardened into a barrier. The senbon bounced harmlessly off of the shield. As the assault died down, Jiraiya released the barrier and saw that the puppet user was gone.

"Damn it!" Jiraiya shouted as he looked around. He gazed at the ruined city and shook his head.

"Roshi, I'm going to find Naruto. Make sure that these guys aren't hurt too bad."

"Right!" the older man yelled with a nod. He then looked towards the crying lady on the ground as Jiraiya ran off. A smile spread his face. "I'll make sure to check every inch for injuries," he said with a perverted giggle.

XxxoxxX

Deidara slowly pulled himself to his feet. He was being beaten around by the little blonde brat for the past ten minutes, but it felt like hours. His usual cool demeanor was totally gone, and was replaced with a young boy, one that Deidara thought died long ago.

For the first time in a long time, Deidara was scared.

"Get up, you bastard!" Naruto yelled with venom in his voice.

Deidara stared at Naruto, gritting his teeth. His body was shaking out of his control. His face was battered, his right eye swollen completely shut. He stuck his hand in his coat to try and mold some clay into chakra.

Before he could register what happened he released a feral scream. Deidara looked down and saw Naruto had his hand on his arm. The older blonde fell to his knees as he tried to wrench his arm from his opponents grip.

"Ghh! Let go you freak!" he yelled in panic. The pain traveling through his arm was immeasurable. Deidara stared into the boys red eyes and saw nothing but anger.

"Is this what you did to Goku?" Naruto asked in a low tone. "Made him SUFFER!" Deidara let loose a whimper as Naruto's grip tightened. "I'm going to make you feel it, tenfold!" A loud cracking sound was heard throughout the city, followed close behind was a blood curdling scream.

Deidara fell cradling his arm as he rolled on the ground in agonizing pain. Tears involuntarily fell down his face as he held onto his limb. He tensed up as he saw the boy walk up to him.

"Y-you demon!" he yelled at Naruto. Naruto tensed as he heard that word. The word that everyone in his village called him. This caused his anger to rise even more. Naruto released a feral cry as his anger continued to rise.

Deidara's eye's widened. He could feel the power pulsing off of the boy. Another tail began to form from the chakra.

"Go to Hell!" Naruto yelled as he lunged towards the boy.

Naruto was shocked as he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and toss him back a dozen yards. He looked up angrily and saw his teacher, Jiraiya glaring at him.

"Stay out of my way!" Naruto yelled angrily. His chakra flared at the older man.

Jiraiya calmly looked towards his student. Things must have gotten pretty bad if he was using the nine tails chakra. "I won't let you do this, Naruto. You're not in control of your actions."

"I am!" Naruto yelled at his sensei. "He killed Goku!"

Jiraiya flinched at this. He slowly turned and glared at Deidara. "He did what?" he asked in a low tone.

"He killed Goku!" Naruto yelled through tears. He couldn't control himself as tears started too fall.

"Naruto, calm down. I know that it's hard to lose a friend, but that's the life of a shinobi."

"Goku wasn't a shinobi! He was my best friend!" The cloak of chakra slowly started to fade as the tears streamed down harder. "He was... my…" Naruto fell, but was caught by Jiraiya into a hug.

"It's OK, champ." Jiraiya ignored the tears and snot that protruded his clothing and was rubbing onto his stomach. "I know you want to kill the guy, Hell I do too. But we can't, not yet. We have to take him to be examined by Inoichi. We could find out their purpose."

Naruto sobbed into his sensei's shirt. He could only think about Goku. The laughter of the boy. The smile that he always wore. The only person that he could say he was smarter than. The more he thought about him, the harder he cried.

"G-Goku!" Naruto wailed once more before he fainted from his exhaustion.

XxxoxxX

Another chapter! Whooo! I hope you guys are enjoying it. I don't reallly have much to say, so I guess I'll respond to the reviews.

Jackalope89: I'm sorry, I kind of wanted Yamcha to be a little more bad ass. I feel as if Dragonball kind of made him too dorky. As for you knowing about little Markie, kudo's! I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with him honestly, but someone recommend it and I went with it.

Gokusanmystic: thanks for the review, but I'm going to apologize to you now. I'm a huge Goku fan, he's the greatest hero ever. HOWEVER, a story with a super strong guy with no challenges kind of bores me so I had to make his strength more believable. And the great Akira himself said that Goku's power level is a ten at the beginning of Dragonball. In a world of shinobi, a ten is rather low, in my story at least. Don't worry though, if you stick around you'll see him reach his planet bursting potential.

See you guys next time!


	10. A Heavy Heart, Mind, and Body

A Heavy Heart, Mind, and Body

Disclaimer: I own... nine of these characters. I mean none.

"So... you say you're collecting the Dragon balls?" Jiraiya asked as he rubbed his chin. The group had assembled back in one of the few buildings that remained standing, which happened to be the hospital. Jiraiya was sitting in a room with Bulma and his Sensei Master Roshi.

Bulma nodded with a grim smile. "Yeah, that's right," she said. "I was going to wish for a boyfriend! But now, I guess I have other things that can be handled. First thing on the list, get Goku back!" she said with a shout.

Master Roshi was staring at the girl with a wide smile. "So, you need a boyfriend?" he asked as he leaned in his seat to get a closer view.

Bulma glared at the old man. "Yeah, one that's around MY AGE!" she shouted as she slapped the old fool so hard that she let an imprint. The man took a step back and rubbed his cheek, smiling still at the blue haired beauty.

Jiraiya nodded at the girl, ignoring the pain of his sensei. "That makes sense. He was a very brave boy, definitely one of the strongest I've ever encountered."

Bulma looked excited at her brilliant idea. "I'm sure Naruto will be happy! We already have five!"

Jiraiya's smile widened. "That's great! Do you know where the next one is?" he asked the young girl.

Bulma nodded as she dug into her bag. "It's... give me a minute... Aw, here it is!" she said with a smile as she pulled out a small white item. Roshi and Jiraiya quickly jumped behind her and leaned over her shoulder to look at the device. It had a green screen that had five dots, as well as two arrows pointing in different directions. "That way!" Bulma said as she pointed to one of the arrows.

"Cool!" Jiraiya said with a smile. "Lemme guess, your father built that device?"

Bulma shook her head. "Nope! Made it myself."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Is that so? You're just as smart as your old man, huh?

"Yep!" Bulma said with a grin. "And as pretty as my mother!"

The more perverted of the two men once more was in the girl's face. "Is that so? Maybe an introduction is in order, hm?"

"Not a chance, old man."

Jiraiya chuckled at his masters antics. No matter the situation he was always thinking with his second head. He couldn't complain though, he did the same. He then turned his gaze back towards the device she held. "What do you call this doohickey?"

Bulma hummed in thought, a finger tapping her chin. "I never really thought of that," she responded distantly. "Maybe… a Dragon Radar… yeah! Dragon Radar!"

The white haired man rubbed a hand through his hair with a grin. "I suppose that's not the cheesiest name I've ever heard." He ignored the dirty look he was given from the bluenette and chose to turn his gaze back towards the Radar.

"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, that's where an old friend of mine lives!" Jiraiya said with a smile as his eyes followed the nearest dot. "I've been planning on making a trip there but you know, the life of an author and shinobi is pretty busy."

Bulma clapped her hands together. "Great! That means you can be my escort!" she said with a giggle. She was comfortable with Goku and Naruto, but with these two old powerhouses on her side she felt totally protected.

Jiraiya smirked. "Of course! All Naruto needs is another adventure to clear his mind a bit. Besides, I still have to train him for his upcoming tournament." Being reminded of it really bothered him. He really should spend some time teaching the boy something. After all, that was the purpose of the mission.

"Then it's decided! As soon as Naruto's ready, we'll be on our way!" Bulma said as she ran out of the room.

Master Roshi and Jiraiya sat in silence. The two eyes of the men stayed on the door where the girl disappeared to. Jiraiya then pulled out a pad and pen and began to scribble into his notepad.

"New idea for your story?"

"Oh yeah, and this will definitely be a best seller!"

XxxoxxX

Ino stood over Naruto's body laying on the bed of the hospital. Her eyes watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took. His blonde locks were matted to his head and his eyebrows were knit as if in thought or pain.

She couldn't believe the power that the blonde in front of her displayed. Not only was he strong, he seemed to take on a more feral appearance in his new form. The red chakra he exuded was terrifying to say the least, and the tails and red eyes only added to the horrifying picture.

It was scary to think that this sweet blonde was the owner of such terrifying power! She wondered if it was a Kekkei Genkai or something, but if it were then what was it? Being a member of a prestigious clan she was forced to learn about all of the bloodline limits native to her home village. In all of her studies she had never heard of anything like this.

Maybe Naruto's parents weren't from Konoha? Could that be why the village shunned him, merely because he never belonged? It made sense to her, but if only there was a way to find out!

It was then that Ino got an idea. She was a member of the Yamanaka clan, she could easily find out!

Ino put her fingers into the familiar seal of her clan. She began gathering chakra into her body, aiming at the still sleeping blonde. Her eyebrows pushed together in concentration as she prepared to release her jutsu.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Yamanaka."

Ino looked up and saw the long white haired man that stopped Naruto from killing. As she stared into his eyes, she could see a serious look on his face. If she had to place an expression she'd say that it was a cross between pain and doleful.

"If you were to dig into his mind, you would discover an S ranked secret." The man smiled on the inside as she lowered her hands. "That would force me to kill you, which I honestly don't want to do." At the girls shocked reaction he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile that could counter Goku's. "Just trust me when I say that he isn't dangerous. He's that same kid that you went to school with." A sad smile graced his face as his eyes went back to the boy. "The same idiotic, loud-mouthed, annoyingly adorable kid.

Ino couldn't help but to giggle at the man's description of her classmate. She wasn't sure why she trusted this stranger, or even how the man could threaten her yet she didn't feel a drip of fear yet the seriousness in his tone all the same. Ino nodded as she looked at him. "Will he be okay?" she asked him in a low tone.

The man nodded quickly with a grin as he crossed his arms. "Of course! No student of mine can be taken down that easily!"

The response brought more questions than answers. She cocked her head in confusion, and then her eyes widened in realization. "Then that means you are-"

"Me?" he said with a confident smirk. He jabbed a thumb to his chest with pride. "I'm the Legendary Jiraiya!"

Ino looked wide eyed at the man. This couldn't be the Legendary Shannon that her father spoke so proudly of. "You're... him?"

"Yep!" he said as he turned to walk out. Ino turned her head back towards her sleeping friend. "Hey, don't let it get you down kiddo. I'm sure all of your friends will make it out of this stronger than before!"

Ino nodded slowly as she continued to stare at her friend. The clicking of Jiraiya's shinobi sandals became more distant as she watched the sleeping figure.

In all honesty being warned about an S ranked secret only made her more inclined to learn what it was. Asuma Sensei taught her that knowledge was the most important thing to a shinobi. She wanted to know Naruto's secret, but she wasn't willing to get killed over it.

She sighed loudly as she wiped sweat from her brow. No matter how scary Naruto became, he was still Naruto. Nothing changed, except for the fact that he was no longer the dead last of his class. If anything, he could possibly give Sasuke a run for his money.

"Nah," she said with a chuckle. She wouldn't go that far.

XxxoxxX

Kurenai held her kid brother as he cried. They were sitting in her mother office, which honestly hadn't changed since she was a young girl. The walls were covered with books and files, and she had a small bed for her to sleep in. They sat on the side of the bed and she was rubbing his back, telling him that everything was going to be fine.

She couldn't believe that that her mother was taken from her, or even that she now had a younger brother. She wanted to cry but stayed strong for her brother.

It's not that her mother was a bad person, they just never saw on eye to eye level ever since she was a child. While her mother was strict and no nonsense, her father liked to play around with her. He was a trained shinobi and taught her many tricks while her mother was usually at work.

Kurenai couldn't help but wipe a tear away. Her chest was soaked from Mark but she didn't mind. She wanted to be there to support him and she promised to protect him for as long as she could.

The black beauty looked down as she felt the sobs lessening. She could feel Mark's chakra slowly fading out; he was finally falling asleep.

Kurenai now couldn't decide what to do. On one hand, she wanted to stay and raise her brother. The village had nothing left, and she was almost certain that no one else here was good at healing. Her mother was the only doctor in the town ever since she was a little girl.

As much as she wanted to, however, she couldn't leave her team. They needed her more than anything right now. Hinata and Kiba suffered serious injuries while she wasn't harmed in the least. She felt that she failed them both as a sensei.

Kurenai placed Mark on the bed and tucked him in. She stood up and began looking around the office. The black haired woman was amazed at how much informational booklets her mom had stashed. She saw many books on sensing and medical ninjutsu as well. She continued to browse through the books, and made sure to seal some of the higher advance ones to share with the hospital in Konoha.

Kurenai took a seat on the chair in front of her mothers computer desk. She smiled, remembering how her mother wouldn't allow her to sit in this chair. "Doctors only" she would say as she shooed the young girl away. Curiosity got the best of her and she opened the top drawer.

Kurenai browsed through the drawer and saw nothing interesting. It mainly held office supplies, such as pencils and band aids. She quickly lost interest and opened the second.

Kurenai saw a lone binder in the drawer. It looked worn and used, so she decided to open it. What she saw surprised her.

The first page of the binder was a drawing. There were three people, a man, a lady, and a young girl. They were obviously family, the girl and father had black hair and red eyes while the mother had blue hair and black eyes. The people were each stick figures, drawn by a kid.

The kid was her.

Kurenai struggled to hold back the tears, but failed miserably at it. She remembered drawing this picture. She gave it to her mother on her third birthday. Her mother was so excited that she posted it on her office wall.

Kurenai continued flipping through the pages. She quickly realized that this was a collection of everything that she ever did. There were drawings like the first, her first tooth, and plenty of her papers from her preschool class. She was hit with a huge wave of nostalgia.

Kurenai flipped to the last page. On it was a note in what was unmistakably her mothers handwriting. She trembled as she gripped the note and began reading.

Dear Kurenai,

If you're reading this, then you and your pathetic father must have returned to this city. If you did, then I hope you have another mother, because I'm not dealing with his crap anymore. This is a letter, just too explain a few thing to you.

First off, I know that it seems like I'm harsh on you, but that's because your fathers so soft on you. He lets you get away with anything, and I just don't like it. A child needs discipline, that's the way I was raised. I never hated you, I just didn't want you to grow up and be spoiled like Rukia's kid. Since you're being raised by him alone, I won't even try to imagine how spoiled you are.

Second, I want to tell you that you have a brother. He's just like you were as a kid, a loud mouthed trouble-maker. He's rather small, however and gets bullied often. When you were a kid, you were beating down the other kids with no problem. He really didn't get your fire.

And final, I want you to be strong. I know it must be hard growing up with a single parent but you can do it. Become a powerful shinobi just like my father and his before him. Never let your students get hurt, and make sure to find a man that you love. I do want grand kids!

Love,

Kimiko Yuhi

PS: Know that I loved you, Kurenai. If I'm dead when you read this, I leave Mark in your hands. Do what you think is best for him, I raised you to be strong minded.

Kurenai was crying as she finished her letter. She couldn't hold back the fountain of tears that formed after the first sentence of the letter. She knew that under her mother's harsh exterior, there had to be the mother that she longed for.

The female shinobi read the letter over and over as her crying calmed down. After a few minutes, she wiped the tears off of her face and walked towards her baby brother.

She looked at the small boy and couldn't help but smirk. He favored her a lot, besides the black eyes and blue hair. She gave him a kiss on the head as she tucked him tighter into the blanket. "Tomorrow, baby brother, your dream will come true." A smile formed on her tear ridden face. "You will... become a shinobi."

XxxoxxX

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He grimaced and gripped his head as he felt a constant throbbing. A loud groan escaped his lips from exhaustion as he wiped his tired eyes.

As he lay there, he tried to remember what happened. Everything seemed to be a blur. He remembered fighting Deidara, as well as being healed by Ino. He could recall saving the citizens of the city with Ino and Goku-

Goku.

Naruto quickly sprung to his feet as he yelled his friends name. He slipped his feet into his sandals as he pulled on his jacket, ignoring the fact that he was dressed in a hospital gown. In a panicked haste he rushed towards the door.

"Hey Naruto, I hear that you're finally- whoa!" Bulma shrieked as the blonde bumped into her. They both released startled shouts as they fell to the ground.

Naruto fell face first. He landed on top of something soft, and he had to admit that it felt pretty good. He gripped his pillow as he pushed himself up. He then realized he was looking into the face of Bulma.

And she looked pissed.

Using his trained speed, Naruto quickly jumped off of the girl and backed up while blushing. He noticed the girls face was a bright red and she was gritting her teeth as she rose to her feet. He may have been imagining it but he swore he could see smoke rising from her head.

"B-B-Bulma, I can explain!" he yelled to deaf ears as she rolled up her sleeves and approached him. From someone looking in it would seem as if she were the trained shinobi from the fear present in his eyes. "I was ju-"

"Shut it, Pervert!" she yelled as she socked him on the head.

"Owww!" he yelled as he rubbed his throbbing plus pounding head. He ignored the insults that the girl threw his way as he tried to cope with the pain.

Bulma continued to glare at the blonde. "What are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be resting!" she yelled at the recovering boy.

Naruto's eyes sprung open as he ignored the pain. "Goku!" he yelled as he jumped back to his feet. He quickly jumped onto the windowsill and was into the town before anyone knew what happened.

Bulma's anger died down, but the blush remained. This time however it was from the sight of the blondes butt. The standard hospital attire was open in the back and gave her a clear view of the pale buttocks.

She straightened her hair and clothes as she watched the concerned boy run off. She told herself that he was too young for her. If he were a bit older though…

The thoughts were pushed back down as quickly as they came. She shook her head vigorously. "I've been around those perverts too much…"

A small smile graced her face. Even though Naruto was hurt he still had enough energy to go and look for his friend. This quality was admirable in a child and one of his redeeming qualities.

With a chuckle she left the room. She decided that following the boy would be best. If he passed out in the street it wouldn't help anyone after all.

She didn't notice a giggling toad sitting under the bed, scratching away in a notepad. "This is gold!" he muttered away to himself.

XxxoxxX

Deidara sat in silence. He was not happy with himself.

Not only did his piece of shit partner ditch him, but he got his ass handed to him by the very person he was sent to retrieve. This was humiliating to the blonde. He couldn't see out of one eye, and the pain running through the numerous cuts and bruises on his body was unbearable.

Now he was tied up in a dark room all alone. He couldn't escape; that blasted old man set a paralyzation seal on him, on top of a chakra seal. He was simply a sitting duck, waiting to be thrown into a fiery pit.

Deidara spit on the floor. He couldn't believe how unlucky he was. He was only a member of the organization for a week and he already failed his first mission. And then that damned Sasori was just going to ditch him.

Tears involuntarily fell down Diedara's jawline as he grit his teeth. He was only fifteen! There was many things he wanted, and it was all being stripped from him prematurely. He couldn't believe that he was being held to be taken back to the strongest of the villages, the Leaf. He heard stories about their T&I Division, and none of them were good.

Deidara finally came to a decision. He didn't want to do it, but it was his only hope to make it out alive.

He had to tell them what they wanted to hear.

XxxoxxX

"Goku!" Naruto yelled for the umpteenth time. He was walking around the ruined city looking for any traces of his friend. He couldn't find anything in any of the destroyed buildings he checked. He checked in every hole, house, and even shed for his companion. His search was going on for over an hour, but he'd never give up.

"Goku!" Naruto yelled again. He was tired and in pain, but to Hell with it. Even if Goku was dead, he at least had to give him a proper burial. He refused to think of the boy being deceased though so he continued to search.

Naruto jumped on a stool standing pole and gazed over the city. He looked all around, but he couldn't see anything. It was then he saw a familiar red dot in the distance.

Naruto quickly leaped off the pole and took off towards the object. His heart rate accelerated as he ran and he almost fell over his own feet two times but he never stopped. When he got close he jumped, landing a few feet from his objective.

Naruto bent down and picked up the object. It was the small red pole that Goku owned. As he looked at it, he was overwhelmed with emotion. On one side, he could see a large black burn mark.

On the other side, he saw blood.

Naruto fell to his knees as he gripped the pole. He looked around for any traces of the boy, but all he could see was rubble. Naruto then saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

He rushed to the pile of rubble and froze. That was definitely what he thought it was. It was Goku's tail.

And it was moving!

Naruto quickly used his remaining strength to dig into the shattered building. He threw rocks and bricks out of his way as he dug for his friend. After a few seconds he saw the boy.

"N-Naruto?" Goku said weakly. He looked terrible. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, and parts of his gi was blown away, showing his body. One of his eyes were halfway open.

On Naruto's face was a smile from ear to ear. "Goku!" he yelled as he dived to hug his friend. Goku grimaced at the touch; he was still weak, but Naruto just kept hugging as tears flowed down his face. "Thank Kami you're alive!"

"Whose alive?" Naruto heard Bulma say. He released his friend and saw the entire gang standing behind him, excluding Kurenai's brat brother, Kiba and his pup, and Hinata.

Jiraiya smiled at the scene in front of him. "You're pretty tough, brat!" he said to Goku.

Roshi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I thought you were a goner kiddo. I couldn't sense you at all!"

Bulma quickly rushed to Goku's side. "Goku, thank goodness you're- wait. Are you okay?" she asked as she saw his face.

Goku shivered. His face was scrunched as if in pain and a long line of dribble was trickling down his chin.. "So... hungry..." he said, causing everyone to face plant.

"Yep, he's okay," Bulma responded as she rose to her feet.

XxxoxxX

The entire gang was gathered in front of the gates of Orange Star City. It has been three days since the battle had taken place. Everyone was silent; they just had a memorial service for Kimiko. After a short speech from Kurenai and a lot of tears from Mark the service was finished. A gentle use of a doton jutsu from Roshi and the lady was buried.

After everyone paid their respects they decided it was time to part ways. Naruto and Goku stood together talking about their favorite foods while Bulma fished through her capsules. Hinata and Ino were watching the two boys with blushes while Kiba glared at the attention they were gaining. Akamaru sat on his head, still bandaged up from the previous fight. Deidara's arms and legs were chained up and both being held by Kurenai. The lady was talking with Jiraiya and Roshi, trying her hardest not to strike the oldest for his inappropriate words.

Mark was sad at the funeral, but his spirits quickly rose when he was told he was going to become a shinobi.

"Oh boy sis! Really? No kidding?" Mark yelled as he hopped up and down, doing dances. Everyone laughed at the energetic boy.

"So, where are you guys going again?" Kurenai asked as she looked towards Jiraiya.

"That way!" Bulma pointed as she looked at her Dragon Radar.

Master Roshi nodded. "Yes. That way, my dear." He slowly walked towards Kurenai. "You wouldn't mind giving an old man a hee hee hee... goodbye kiss?" Roshi asked with a blush. Ino rolled her eyes at the old man.

"Pervert," Ino and Bulma both muttered under their breath.

"Sorry, I'm taken," Kurenai said with a slightly disgusted look. This caused Kiba to chuckle and Hinata to blush.

Kiba nudged Hinata's shoulder and nodded towards Naruto. The girls face turned blood red as she noticed him grabbing her and dragging her closer to the other three teens.

"Yo! Goku!" Goku turned towards the voice of Kiba with a smile.

"Hey! It's the puppy and Akamaru!" he said aloud.

"My name is Kiba, you stupid monkey!" Kiba yelled with a tick mark on his head. He sighed as he calmed himself. "Anyway, I want to thank you for saving our ass the other day." He reached his hand out with a feral grin. "But the next time we meet, I'll be saving your ass!" he said with a grin.

"OK!" Goku said with a smile as he shook Kiba's hand. "After you save my ass, you can save Naruto's too!"

Naruto glared at the two boys. "I don't need you guys to save me. In case you forgot, Yamcha ran from me!" he said with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah, after Goku broke his ribs maybe!" Kiba responded with a laugh.

Goku turned towards Hinata. He smiled as he held out his hand. "Can I save your ass too?" he asked innocently.

Hinata blushed harder than she ever did in her life. She didn't know how to respond to the heroic boy that saved her. She spared a glance at Naruto, feeling conflicted at the two cute and sweet boys.

For most her life Hinata had one objective: getting the blonde boy to show her attention. She admired his never faulting drive and overall happiness. Even though everyone was mean to him he always did his best to please them. When the other kids teased him he would simply make a statement about being Hokage. He was a ray of sunshine on the dark world that was her life.

And now there was Goku.

In the few days that she knew the boy, he went out of his way to make everyone happy. The boy always smiled and would talk to anyone about anything. Even when she was too shy to talk back he would continually speak, trying to find out if she was sick or tired. When she would faint he would catch her without fail. His strength and cute smile always could brighten the day.

And now she was stuck in the middle of the two boys. Her young hormonal mind could barely process what she was thinking when the two boys were around, especially when they were together. She was constantly red from blushing at the duo and was beyond sure that she would eventually burn up from the inside.

"Y-y-yes," Hinata responded. She held out her hand to shake his warily.

When their hands met, Hinata blushed darker than ever before. With a weak sigh she fell backwards. Kiba was used to this so he quickly got behind her and caught her.

Goku scratched his head in confusion. His eyes then widened in terror. "Did I hurt her?" he asked in a panicked tone.

"Nah, she does this all the time," Kiba said while his teammate agreed with a bark.

"Kiba, it's time," Kurenai said as she gripped Deidara's shackles, causing him to growl slightly. "Mark, keep up as best as you can." Kiba looked towards Kurenai and nodded. He shifted Hinata into a comfortable position on his back.

"Later guys!" he said as he took off in a sprint. Ino waved as she followed suit.

The five people left watched their friends disappear. "Well," Bulma exclaimed with an excited grin, "off to get those Dragon Balls!"

She pulled out the capsule she was looking for. After pressing the button and throwing it into the air, the capsule became a rather large luxury RV. The vehicle was big and blue. It had air conditioning, as well as a built in pool. The boys looked at it, each with astonished looks on their faces.

"Let me guess," Jiraiya said, "won it at an auction?"

Bulma giggled. "No, silly. I bought it when we made it to town! It was on sale for 250,000 zeni, I had to get it!" she said as she turned toward the vehicle. "Now, lets go!"

"Alright!" both boys yelled as they rushed to enter.

"Not so fast!" the boys froze as Master Roshi held his stick in the front of them.

"What, Pervy Gramps?" Naruto said with an annoyed tone.

"You're not riding in here," Jiraiya stated as he stepped in front of them and entered the vehicle. "You two will be training."

Goku's face lit up. "Oh boy, training?"

"What?" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice. He pointed at Jiraiya. "Is this one of you old geezers stupid plots to get alone with Bulma?" he demanded.

"No, of course not," Jiraiya said with a smirk. "It's just that I haven't taught you anything except water walking, which I don't think you mastered, and summoning. It's time to build your physical abilities."

Naruto glared at the man, not trusting anything he was saying. As much as he was happy to hear about training, he still didn't trust his words. "Well what do you have in mind?"

Jiraiya smiled as he stepped toward both boys. He placed a hand on each of their foreheads, smiling at their perplexed expressions. He then applied chakra and grinned at their grimace.

"W-what's happening?" Goku asked. His body was tense as he struggled to stand.

"What did you do?" Naruto demanded. He was faring much worse than his friend. While Goku was straining to stay standing, Naruto was crouched over in exertion.

"Relax," Jiraiya responded with a smile. "It's just weight seals. They're actually on the lower levels as well, only twenty pounds on each limb." He chuckled at the boy's struggle. "Now, keep up with us. I have some research to do!" he said with a giggle.

"Those bastards!" Naruto yelled as the vehicle cranked up.

"Come on, this should be fun!" Goku said with enthusiasm. He took slow steps with a strain after the moving car, which quickly became a jog.

"Wait up!" Naruto tried to follow the boy but could barely walk. He rose his eyes angrily at the sight of a laughing Goku trailing behind the vehicle. The boy looked to be struggling but he continued to move.

Naruto growled, deciding to give it another try. He took a step forward and grunted at the notion. He took another slowly and then another. Swear fell down his face at the effort but he didn't care.

"Hey Naruto," Goku yelled behind him, "if you don't catch up you'll get left!"

Naruto groaned once more. He unconsciously applied chakra to his limbs, making it easier to move. In a light jog he ran to attempt catching up to the retreating figures of his friends. "Shut up, I'm coming!"

XxxoxxX

Another chapter! Sorry it took a while but it's here. I hope you enjoy it. Although it is kind of a filler, it was mainly for the sake of character development.

One more thing. See, I'm interested in co-writing a story with someone. If there are any good authors that like this story send me a PM. Anyway please if you have time read and review!


	11. Improvement

Improvement

The old Hokage sat at his desk, signing papers like always. His calloused hand moved in a motion that seemed almost automatic, mainly because it work in front of him was far from his train of thought.

The old man was anxious beyond measure. His plate was filled to the brim with things to deal with. The first on his list of problems was the number of families he had to write letters of apologies too.

This year was the most brutal in recent memory; the death count hadn't been this high since the warring years. The Forest of Death was littered with bodies of young genin, most being crushed by sand. Konoha was extremely lucky that every team made it out, especially since three were rookies.

And speaking of the rookies, it brought to the front of his mind the main cause of his stress.

His student was out with Naruto for two entire weeks and he had yet to hear anything from him. From a pause that long the old man could only think the worse.

Make no mistake, he didn't doubt the power of the Sannin in the slightest. Oh no, there was only a handful of shinobi that could beat him in a fair fight. Well, as fair as a shinobi fight could be, he thought with a chuckle. He single handedly wiped out waves of shinobi during the warring days. His mastery of the sealing arts was second to none and his gang of summons were among the most feared.

His problem was that he knew that the man wasn't invincible. Even with all of Jiraiya's power he would be helpless if he were to take on numerous S ranked shinobi. The Akatsuki group he spoke of often could possibly overpower him with the right team, according to the sage. He attempted to keep constant watch on the man, but he slipped the view of his Anbu before the duo even crossed the border. Most leaders may have been angered at the fact, but he could only smirk in pride that his student was using what he taught him so well.

And speaking of students, he was also curious of the progress Naruto was making. Everyone knew that the sage was a great teacher; he was not only trained by a Hokage but he taught one as well. He knew Naruto could be difficult, but the man had a thing for bringing the best out of people.

He was also worried that the boy may miss his fight. Although he admitted that Neji was *cough* slightly more advanced than Naruto, he was certain that the boy would find a way to win. Naruto had that effect on him; he could never doubt him in the most dire situations. His inherited stubbornness was one of his prominent features, after all.

Hiruzen sighed as he rubbed his temples. He swore that he could feel wrinkles forming on his face, and checked a mirror in his desk to make sure he wasn't. He assured himself that he would retire after these exams, there was no doubt about it. He could envision he and Konohamaru laying on the beach of Diamond City, a luxurious resort on the coast of the fire country, with drinks in their hands. Asuma was in the back smiling with Kurenai. He hummed in pleasure as the thoughts hit him. But before he got ahead of himself there was one major question:

Who would be the next Hokage?

He could see the leader of the Nara clan taking his position or even Kakashi, but they both were much too lazy for the job. Jiraiya would flat out deny him and those were his only three candidates. Regardless, someone else was going to wear this would have to draw straws if it came to it.

Hiruzen slightly raised his eyebrows as a poof sounded on his desk. He noticed a red toad with blue markings above either eye and on the top of his head. He also had a pair of green goggles hanging around his short neck.

"Yo! How are you doing, Hokage?" the toad asked in a cheerful tone.

"I'm fine Kosuke," he said, with a forced smile. "I'm hoping you bring good news from Jiraiya?"

"Yep!" the toad said aloud with pride as he raised his hand and dropped a small capsule into the humans. "I'll be back in an hour for your response. The summon gave a grin and a salute. "Later!" he said as he dispersed, leaving a trail of smoke.

Hiruzen shook his head in amusement. If he had to guess he'd say that Ma must be finishing dinner from his hasty exit.

With a grin he pressed the button and out popped a small scroll. He grabbed the parchment and grinned at the Chunin Exam flyer in his hand. With a seal he decrypted the genjutsu and saw the familiar hand writing.

Hey, Old Man! In case you're wondering who I am, it's your favorite student!

"Because someone else delivers their mail by toad…" the man grumbled in annoyance.

But skipping the introductions, I'm just checking in. If my internal calendar is right then you should be losing your mind worrying about me by now. But fear not! I am safe and well! No one can match the might of the Great *insert name*.

I really don't want to go too much into detail while writing, but I'd like to say that the Warden is doing well… as well as he can.

He didn't like the way that sounded. The Warden was the code name for Naruto, in case their letters were intercepted. Ignoring the multiple negative scenarios that played in his head he continued to read.

I have yet to had time to develop his skills with his special properties, but after this week I will. Apparently the two can communicate… and I had the misfortune of seeing them in action.

The paper crumpled slightly in the man's calloused hands. He couldn't believe what he was reading. Yet still, he pressed on.

Don't get your panties in a bunch! The only person that was harmed in the process is on his way to you as we speak. I'm sure he has a lot to tell you.

The Kage relaxed at this information. He would be sure to be present at the interrogation of this man's memories.

Oh, and I ran into your daughter. She'll be delivering your parcel. It's rather soft so please be sure to handle it as roughly as possible. Don't break the toy, though. I'd like my turn.

But that's all for now. Oh! It's not! I've actually ran into an interesting cast of people that I'm traveling with. One of them is the guy I left looking for, the other a rather pretty teen and a kid with immense potential. They both are rather unique and I can't wait until you meet them. Our Warden seems to finally have friends that have zero bias towards him! It's great! See ya in a few weeks!

Signed,

Wood Ant. Yulike Tanoe

Ps: Research was awesome.

The Leader of Konohagakure read the letter numerous times until it was engraved in his memory. With a snap of his fingers the paper disintegrated into ash that flew out of the window by command. A small smile spread across his face.

He was happy that Jiraiya contacted him. He was happy that Naruto was ok, and trusted that Jiraiya worked on his seal. He couldn't wait to meet the Legendary Roshi and hoped that he could learn from the man. He was more happy that Naruto was making friends. But the reason for his smile?

"I can't wait for the new book!"

XxxoxxX

Jiraiya was laid in the hot tub sipping on sake. This vehicle was amazing! It had an inside bar, a jacuzzi, and even a pole for women to do Kami knows what on! He tried to coax Bulma into joining him in the tub, but she declined rather harshly.

Bulma made herself the designated driver. She was extremely annoyed by the two old geezers, their attempts to get with her were terrible. She wished that the two boys were on the inside with her.

Bulma kept her eyes on the thermometer and realized that the temperature was increasing rapidly. "Whoa! It's 115 degrees out there!" she exclaimed.

"Oh really?" the old turtle hermit said as he jumped beside the girl. "Then maybe you should take your shirt off, then you'll cool do-argh!" Bulma smashed on the breaks, causing the old man to fly face first into the windshield. A trail of blood was left smeared on the glass as he slowly slid to the ground. Even Jiraiya flinched at the impact.

Bulma opened the door and ran outside. "Goku! Naruto! You can ride on the inside now!" She heard a laugh and soon sawtwo trails of sand running in her direction. The first one reached her, and a couple seconds later a tired Naruto did the same.

Goku giggled as Naruto fell to the ground. "What... are... you...?" Naruto asked the boy. Goku simply stared at Naruto upside down with his usual grin.

"Get up, Naruto! I've been running all day, I'm hungry!" he whined.

Naruto's stomach growled as well. A growl escaped his throat at his condition. He was beyond sure that his sensei used a body weakening Jutsu, something he wanted to learn.

He struggled to his feet. It was amazing how much stamina his new friend possessed. At first Goku struggled a little, but after a few hours, he was moving like nothing was holding him back. Naruto still struggled a bit to move. His muscles ached with each motion and his heart was working overtime in his chest, yet he pressed on.

He refused to show any pain in front of Goku. The raven haired boy just smiled and pushed on, no matter the difficulty. While his limbs were heavy and impeding his movements, Goku moved as if he was barely tired.

"Come on! This baby even cooks for you!" Bulma said happily.

Both boys faces lit up. "Really!" they yelled in unison. Before Bulma could respond, she felt a burst of wind blow past her. She turned around and saw that both boys were already inside, sitting at the table with big grins on their faces.

Bulma shook her head and couldn't help but to smile. She pressed a button on the monitor. A loud beeping could be heard, and then a mechanical voice. "What will you like to eat today?" it said.

"Fish!"

"Ramen!"

"Bulma!"

Everyone's eye twitched at the response of the old turtle hermit. Bulma's face turned a dangerous red as she quickly approached the still sitting man. Everyone winced as she began pummeling the old perv while shouting obscenities. Naruto and Goku laughed at the sight, while Jiraiya grimaced.

This reminded him a lot of his old teammate. Although the punches were uncoordinated they seemed painful. The ferocity in each strike was tremendous! A mental note was made to halt his advances.

After five minutes of an old man getting beat bloody by a teen, a younger old man staring dumbfounded and a pair of pre teens egging it on, they heard a beep. "Your meals are done," the voice said.

The table opened up and out rose a feast that caused everyone's mouth to water. There in front of them was a full buffet. There was many flavors of ramen, as well as types of fish. Stewed fish, baked fish, fried fish, the list went on!

Before anyone could let out a single word, both boys were stuffing their faces with food. Bulma stared at the two disgusted as they wolfed it down. It didn't seem like they were chewing in the slightest.

Goku looked up at Bulma. "Wanna bite?" he asked in between biting a chunk out of a large grilled salmon. He held the fish towards her and she almost barfed at the dead look in its eyes.

"Uhhh... no thanks,"Goku shrugged his shoulders and stuffed the entire fish into his mouth. When he pulled the tail back out, all that was left was bone. The girl shivered as he grabbed another. "I have to go change into something comfortable!" she said as she went into the king bedroom.

Jiraiya smirked at seeing the two boys eat. The kids needed all the energy after the intense training they did. He walked towards the boys and sat at the table.

"How was the training?" he asked with a smirk.

"It was awesome!" Goku yelled without stopping his onslaught of eating.

"It was torture!" Naruto shrieked. "It's one hundred freakin' degrees out there!"

Jiraiya nodded. "Being a shinobi means that you'll be exposed to many different elements. The heat, the cold, the rain, it doesn't matter to the enemy."

Naruto grimaced as he thought about what the man said. "Well, what about all of that running?" He wasn't going to let the old pervert win this argument.

"Well," Jiraiya responded as he grabbed a bowl of ramen, "as shinobi, it's not uncommon for us to run long distances." He paused as he blew the stew and ate a mouthful. He glanced at the boys saw them staring with interest. "Maybe your mission is to deliver a package in a certain time, maybe you must run from a shinobi that is over powering you," he shrugged, "who knows. It's things like this that we shinobi must deal with."

Naruto glared at the old man. He knew that the things he were saying made sense, but he was set in his mind. The boy crossed his arms over his chest confidently. "Well, I won't have that problem. No ninja will ever make me run away."

Jiraiya smirked at the kid. "Yeah, but a girl may."

Naruto blew a raspberry at his sensei. "As if! I would never be bea-"

The boy froze as the door to the master bedroom burst open. Out stepped Bulma in a brand new attire. The girl was wearing a baby blue tank top and a beige skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. Her hair was in an odango with a strand hanging from each bun.

The turtle hermit noticed the look on the blondes face and chuckled to himself. "Why don't you and Goku go and wash up?" His nose crinkled in disgust. "You're stinking up the whole van!"

"OK!" Goku yelled in glee as he finished chewing the last fish. The boy quickly dropped his clothes then and there, shocking everyone in the room. He ignored the shouts of displeasure and dashed for the wash room. "Are you coming Naruto?" he asked as he reached for the door.

Naruto blushed and turned away. "As if!" he stated defiantly. Goku shrugged and shut the door with a chuckle.

"OK!" Bulma shouted while clapping her hands together. "It's time to continue this trip!"

Naruto watched the girly walk towards the driver's seat. His eyes traveled up and down her figure as she strolled.

"Pick your mouth up Gaki." Naruto flinched and looked towards a smiling Jiraiya.

"Wha? I wasn't-"

The man rose a hand. "Save it," Jiraiya said with a smirk. "I remember my first love too."

The boy looked on with interest. "Really? How did it end?"

The man winced. "She… rejected my advances," he shuddered at the memory, "harshly."

Naruto rose to his feet and stormed towards the bath just as the vehicle engine started up. He gave one last glance towards the girl, only to see his Sensei's smile. With an embarrassed yelp he ran into the room, shutting the door behind him harshly.

He ignored his friends sounds of joy in the bath behind him. His head banged on the door as he realized that he was becoming just like his teacher.

A pervy genin.

XxxoxxX

A silent figure jumped from tree to tree at an impressive speed. The limbs barely bent for he didn't stay on any branch for more than a second.

Onyx eyes glanced worriedly in all directions to aid him in his run. Every sound seemed magnified and put him on edge. He stopped on a thick oak and listened intently. When he heard a twig snap to his left he immediately jumped away. Without slowing he began to go through seals.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

The escapee launched a salvo of flames towards the pursuing figure. With a quick set of seals of his own the enemy shinobi shoved his palms into the ground. A stone wall with bull dogs decorating it sprung from the earth. The fire crashed into the wall at a rapid pace, but he was moving before the wave even hit.

In a flash, he was caught in a heated battle of taijutsu. He dodged the first three punches but was caught in the abs with a knee. His entire body froze from the hit and was shocked as an elbow in the square of his back knocked him flat to the ground. He rolled as quickly as he could and dodged the following heel drop.

His eyes flashed red with both anger and chakra as his kekkei genkai became active. He jumped away from the next kick and batted the following punch. Although he knew that the man was holding back, he was still amazed that he could move so fast! He watched the trajectory of a punch coming his way, grazing his nose as he barely leaned away.

Deciding that being close was no longer safe the boy lunged away. He reached into his pockets and primed a fuma shuriken before releasing them, sending the two in opposite arcs. His opponent deftly blocked them and began his pursuit of the genin. Sasuke yanked back and growled as the man leapt at him with unnatural speed.

A surprised look crossed his opponents face as he ducked and dodged the weapon. He prepared to jump out of the way of the next but was suddenly stiff.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the original shuriken wrap around his opponent. A grunt escaped his throat as a log was destroyed instead of his target. Pure instinct caused him turn with his arms raised, which blocked an incoming slug. The force sent him sliding back, but this time he decided to keep it close.

He feinted with a right hook, but pulled back and sent a left kick. His ankle was caught with ease, the sudden halt in momentum causing his body to jar, but he responded by swinging the other.

"You have to try harder than that," the lazy attacker commented as he blocked it with a forearm. He then ducked under the kick from the smaller fighter and dived away from an onslaught of fireballs. With a flick of his wrist the man was armed and deflected the kunai hidden in the flames. When the last weapon was deflected he noticed that his opponent was no longer there.

"Are we really going to play this game?" he asked aloud.

It didn't take long for him to get his answer.

The sound of a completed seal rang through the wind and was followed by a fireball at least 12 feet in diameter. With a blast of chakra the shinobi jumped into the air. He began to go through seals but was interrupted by a chorus of battle cries.

The falling shinobi was put on the defensive as four similar genin began their assault. The first to attack was quickly dispelled before he could complete his flying kick. The next swung for his face which was blocked, a flick to the forehead defeating the clone. The next two sent simultaneous fire blasts that combined into a larger one.

The moment the man's feet hit the ground he sprung into action. Completing seals at the same time, a slab of stone shot out of the earth. With honed reflexes he flipped away from the ensuing crash, not surprised as kunai shot in his direction.

Despite his contract with the dogs, he seemed more a feline as he twisted in the air and dodged them with little effort, batting away the ones that was too close. He heard a pop as he landed and turned to see three new clones.

"Okay… now you have my attention."

With a hasty shout two clones dashed forward with kunai drawn. The fighter quickly began to dodge and parry, slowly being driven back. After ducking a missed swipe from one he jumped to the side, kicking the kage bunshin in the rear for its effort. As it burst into smoke he immediately leapt forward to dodge a fuma shuriken and threw four kunai that all met another mid flight.

The assault wasn't over however as he was suddenly bombarded from all sides with kunai and shuriken. The man stomped the ground and was surrounded by jagged rocks jutting from the ground. The weapons bounced off of the stone harmlessly.

A clone cautiously approached the structure from the trees. After glancing in he looked back with a shrug. This instantly put them all on high alert.

The real Sasuke sat in a tree a few yards away. He was plotting and planning a way to beat this foe. The man was stronger and faster than him, but there had to be a way!

"You should've picked a better tree!"

Sasuke started when he heard the voice behind him. He stumbled backwards off of the limb but reflexively landed on his feet. An annoyed groan escaped his throat as he landed awkwardly on his left ankle.

"Aaaaaaand this is where we stop." Sasuke hissed as a kunai was placed at his throat. "You're dead."

An exhausted sigh left Sasuke as he fel to the ground in exhaustion. He and Kakashi had been sparring for the entire day. The Jonin said it was to build stamina but the Uchiha knew better. The sensei simply loved to torture his students.

"Well Sasuke, I would point out your flaws, but with your eyes I'm sure you saw them yourself."

Sasuke grit his teeth as he glared at the man whom was now reading a book from God knows where. He didn't need him to point out every flaw he made, he knew that he wasn't perfect!

"But, I suppose it's fair to say that you've improved immensely." The Uchiha glanced up at this. "Your reflexes are improving and your body is slowly catching up to your eyes."

He was right of course. It was clear that he could dodge much more then he could before. In the first few days he was beaten relentlessly with little effort by his teacher. Now he could last at most ten minutes on a good day.

"Tomorrow, my cute student," a pause as he flipped a page in the book, "you will be learning a new technique."

The eyes of the boy widened at that. His mind instantly began to go over the attacks that his sensei possessed. He as well as everyone else knew that he copied over a thousand techniques, but he was the only that really understood why that was possible. And if he could learn that much, if Sasuke started now he could double that.

"Oh, and by the way," Kakashi said while still reading, "I heard that Naruto is doing pretty well."

Sasuke tensed up at the mention of his teammate. Of course he wondered how the Dobe was doing. He was training with a Sannin, after all, and Jiraiya at that. He read many reports of the man in the Uchiha archives.

The man was a friend of the clan and saved dozens of lives in the line of duty. One of his father's reports speak of the two getting ambushed by a gang of S ranked missing nin and barely surviving thanks to the hidden strength the man possessed.

Kakashi continued speaking. "He took on a B ranked shinobi and actually won."

The body of the Uchiha noticeably tended at this. Naruto was actually progressing, and maybe as fast as him! He was secretly impressed by the brat's progress. In the few months since they'd left the academy the boy went from a dead last to a surprisingly reliable ally.

But defeating a B ranked shinobi? It must be the training from the Sannin that did it, he was sure of it.

Sasuke forced himself to his feet, getting into his fighting stance. If there was one thing that he would prevent at any cost, it was letting that idiot be stronger than him. His eyes flashed red as a growl escaped his throat.

"Again!" he yelled as he charged at his sighing sensei.

"Perfect," Kakashi whispered with a hidden smirk as he got on the defensive.

XxxoxxX

"Is... is that fire?" Bulma asked. The group was looking towards a mountain that seemed to be covered in... well, fire.

"So it seems," Master Roshi said. "I wonder what caused it."

"Maybe there was a great battle here," Naruto piped in. "Maybe it's still going on!" His face was instantly pressed to the windshield. "I wanna seeeeeee!"

"I doubt it," Jiraiya responded as he stared straight ahead, his head resting on his palm. "I don't sense anything unusual happening."

As the group got closer to the mountain they could really see the magnitude of the flames. The fire consumed an entire mountain!

"I hope that student of mine is alright..." Roshi mumbled in a grim tone.

Jiraiya pat the old man on the back. "You know that a little fire won't hurt him. He could probably take me on, on a bad day of course."

"Well, we can stop right here, because I'm not getting the RV close enough to fry the tires!" Bulma yelled as she came to a halt.

"Bet ya I'll beat you to the Dragon Ball!" Naruto yelled as he took off in a sprint.

"You're on!" Goku shouted back as he took off behind him. Bulma burst through the door behind them.

"Wait guys! You forgot your sunscreen!" She sighed as she saw the boys didn't slow down one bit. "Well, do you guys need any-"

Bulma turned towards the old men and saw both of them laying with their shirts off. "Yes!"

Bulma shuddered as she looked at the duo. She quickly ran off, throwing he capsule and hopping upon her motor scooter. "Goku! Naruto! Wait up!"

XxxoxxX

"What are we going to do, Yamcha?" the small blue feline, Puar, asked his friend.

"We wait," Yamcha responded. He smirked as he watched the boys leaving the stopped vehicle. "We just have to get the girl all alone."

"Do you know the old men?" Puar asked with curiousity.

Yamcha nodded. "The bald one is Master Roshi." A frown crossed his face. "He may be the most powerful man in the world, possibly. He is the creator of the Kamehameha wave, one of the most deadly tchniques in the world. The other is Jiraiya, Sannin of the Leaf Village. He's the student of Master Roshi and the current Hokage, as well as the teacher of the late Fourth Hokage."

Puar started sweating. "So... you can't win?"

Yamcha shook his head. "Not at all." The cat fell out of the air and landed on his head. "BUT I know their weakness." A smile spread on his face. "All it's gonna take is a little help from you Puar."

Puar rose, rubbing the forming bruise as he stared at the bandit. The look he was giving him was beyond disturbing.

The cat shook as the bandit stepped towards him. When he knelt and whispered in the cat's ears, the feline's eyes widened.

"Y-You want me to wh-what!?"

XxxoxxX

And I know a crappy way to end it, but I feel like you guys waited long enough so here you go. I wanted to add another scene but I just got off of work so… I'll add it to next chapter.

So, review, fav, follow, flame. If anyone wants to be an editor, PM me. I'll explain more in detail there.

Thanks, sorry for the wait.

Signed,

Me


	12. Big Loser

I do not own Dragon Ball or Naruto... yet.

Big Loser

On a lone, hazy mountain an immense fire was bellowing. The blaze could be seen for hundreds of miles away, the majestical flames dancing furiously to its own rhythm. The red inferno resembled a mini sun roaring it's might to anyone near enough to hear it. The air seemed to run from the heat, making the mountain appear to be a smell of soot was strong in the air. Ash drifted lazily in the air as the flames raged on. Any sane person would turn away before they could be consumed by the blaze.

Not these three young travelers.

The strange trio had been walking for the better part of an hour, refusing to rush at this temperature. Well, the single girl and the blonde boy did. The other fellow was annoyed at the speed his companions traveled.

"It's soooooo hot!" Naruto whined pathetically, wiping his matted hair out of the way. His sweaty chest was exposed, shirt wrapped around his waist. The trademark orange jacket was disposed in the RV.

The preteen wasn't used to this extreme heat. The Leaf Village stayed rather comfortable year round, one of the benefits of living in the region.

Bulma released a loud groan. She was tired of hearing the young blonde complain. "I didn't know ninja cried this much..."

Goku's laugh suddenly filled the sky . "Look guys, we're almost at the top! Naruto, I bet I'll beat you up there!"

Naruto growled. Whether he was tired or not, he wasn't going to lose to this guy! "You're on!" he yelled as he took off behind the cloud.

Bulma groaned again. How did I ever get stuck with these two hyperactive kids? She gripped a capsule off of her waist and tossed it onto the ground. Her familiar scooter appeared which she hurriedly hopped on, racing behind the fleeing boys.

Bulma was amazed at the size of the inferno. As she got closer, she could see that the entire mountain was literally ablaze. It was both shocking and scary that such a large fire could even exist!

Her calculating mind (and special eyes) could instantly tell that the fire was unnatural. Her eyes could see a faint trace of magic glittering off of the flames. The wisps danced in a steady rhythm that could easily become hypnotizing if stared at for too long.

"All I need is my Dragon Ball, and I'll be good to go!" the girl shouted triumphantly.

Bulma arrived to both boys standing at the base of the mountain. Only Naruto seemed winded, or maybe it was just the heat. The blonde was knelt over heaving for oxygen while Goku stood, scratching the back of his head with a smile.

They were both standing on the outskirts of a city, or at least what was a city. Most of the round houses were destroyed and the structures that weren't were being consumed by flames.

"Looks like I win again, Naruto!" Goku yelled with a smile. The blonde genin glared at his rival.

"Just barely! It's only this freakin' heat that helped you!" The shinobi kicked a stone out of frustration in the direction of Bulma. Watching as it bounced away he froze. His face was drained of color as the 'stone' grinned at him in mid air, before nestling beside the bluenette's

"Of course you'd win, Goku, you're flying," Bulma responded with a smile. She glanced down at the rock with interest, only to release a blood curdling shriek. "Goku, get it away from me! Hurry!"

The tailed boy quickly scurried over and picked up the disembodied head. He looked it in the Bulma was much scarier than this guy, that's for sure.

"Hey, mister. I don't think my friend likes you, but can you please tell me where you keep the Dragon Ball?"

Both of his friends fell backwards at the boys naivety.

"Hiya!" Bulma hastily recovered and kicked the skull out of Goku's hand, sending it sailing into the flames.

"Bye, friend!"

"Stop being weird, Goku!"

XxxoxxX

In the center of the seemingly uninhabitable flames, a large figure was hunched over. In his right hand was the thigh of some poor reptile. To most this would've been impossible, considering it was the limb of a predatory Rex. The sickening sounds of snarling, smacking, and slurping could be heard over the constant cackling of flames. He greedily gobbled the gargantuan grilled meat to his hearts content, all in a failed attempt to clear his mind.

Where was his daughter?

He angrily bit into the dinosaur thigh again. The child knew how he felt about her being out for too long, and no matter how old she got, two hours was far too long to be alone! It didn't matter that she was his trained seed, there are many shinobi in the world that could topple even him! She was all he had left and her extended absence immediately caused him to think the worse. What if she were injured? Kidnapped? Or worse?

And to add insult to injury, he was completely sealed out of his house. A magical fire ran amok on the property. He tried every logical means to defeat it; water, sand, and air was no help at all. He even grew enormous and attempted to stomp out the flames but that only ended with him needing a new pair of boots.

A run in with a dick-headed shinobi resulted in him being in his current predicament. It was way too hot out here, and he really missed his comfortable bed. All of his jewels and good clothes were in his castle!

"That damn Uchiha..." he mumbled as he vigorously chewed his meat. Anger couldn't begin to describe how he felt at the moment. This would have been a good time to have his old friends to spar with. Hell, even an intruder would be a miracle at this point. If a fly landed on him, he would pound it into dust! If a dog yipped at him he'd rip its tongue out and feed it back to it! If a bird sh-

'Thonk!'

"Oww!" The large man roared as he rubbed his head, more out of annoyance than pain. He glanced around for the attacker, but no one was near him.

The giant released a mighty yell. "Is this a game? Show yourself you coward!" The massive foot impacted the ground, resulting in the earth trembling. Fragments of Gaia flew into the air, as well as objects that were placed on its surface.

He was then thunked on the head a second time.

This time he twisted and gripped his assailant, not in the least surprised that it fit comfortably in his palm. He cracked open his hand to see the remains of a smiling human. With a frustrated snort he let gravity carry the rock to the ground.

He growled and stumped the skull into fragments. "Skulls don't fly," he mumbled. Someone's in my territory!"

XxxoxxX

"Goku, do you think you could fly up there and get the Dragon Ball?" Bulma asked her companion. For the last few minutes they occupied themselves with exploring the ruined towns. After thoroughly concluding that there was nothing of interest, she got back to the original objective.

Goku lifted up another skull off the ground and placed it on his face. "I tried that once, and look what happened!" His infectious laugh followed the sentence, forcing Bulma to follow suit.

"Goku, you're crazy!" Bulma responded with a smile.

Naruto was walking out of one of the ruined houses, dusting off his sooty hands. "I don't think anyone lives here."

Bulma wiped sweat off of her brow. "Are you surprised? It's like two hundred degrees!"

Naruto chuckled nervously while inwardly he slapped himself. Why did he always say stupid things in front of girls?

"Flying Nimbus!" The blond boy was brought of out his thought by the now familiar yell. He stared with a mixture of irritation and envy as the tailed boy soared into the air.

"Bring back that Dragon Ball Goku!" Bulma yelled after the tailed boy.

Goku threw her a peace sign as he flew higher into the sky. He rose at a constant pace until he was directly above the castle. "Naruto, you should come see this! It's huge!"

Naruto's face turned red with anger. "It's not like we all can fly like you, ya know!"

Goku snickered at the genin's pain. "Going down!" he yelled as he descended into the castle.

Big mistake.

Without warning the boy came flying back from a force unseen. He yelled in pain and shock as the Nimbus spiraled out of control. The boy was hurled off of the cloud, rubbing his throbbing noggin.

"Goku!" Naruto yelled as he watched the boy fall into a lake. He began to run towards him, but a quick glance backwards caused him to shriek out a warning to Bulma.

"Wh- eeee!" the teen ducked just in time to avoid a large ax from decapitating her. She grimaced as blue hair fell into her view, a testament to how close she was to death. The massive weapon lodged itself into a stone structure that was in the front of the duo.

The two slowly turned around and their heart was caught in their throats. They both released a scream as they saw their attacker.

The first thing that caught their attention was the man's size. He was simply massive, easily towering over the two of them combined. The figure wore a helmet with horns and goggles as well as a red cape draped over his shoulders. On his body was a sleeveless blue battle vest with stars decorating it, and a light blue cloth with a white sash tied into a bow.

He took a slow step towards the two. "What are you two doing here?" he demanded with a booming voice.

Bulma shakily stared at the man. "U-u-us? W-we weren't doing anything!"

Naruto gulped. He was terrified but refused to show it in front of Bulma. He took a brave step forward with a raised fist. "We came here for your Dragon Ball, dattebayo!"

The large man glared at the two. "So you are here to steal the Ox King's treasure!" The unexpected roar caused a shriek from Bulma. Naruto's body involuntarily began to shake as the man lifted a large fist. "I'll destroy you!"

"Bulma, run!" Naruto yelled as he back flipped away from the attack.

"Gladly!" she yelled as she took off in the direction of Goku's descent. "Goku!"

The Ox King growled as he looked at Naruto. "You sure are a fast one, you little twerp!" A creepy grin stretched across his face as he grabbed his ax. "Lets see you move without your legs!"

Naruto jumped into the air as the ax was swung at him. He landed on top of the weapon clumsily, only to be blown off of it as if he were dust. The Ox King continued to swing non stop at the small boy.

"You can run, little fox, but you can't hide!" The large man swung his ax in a downward motion which Naruto barely dodged and it became stuck into the ground. Naruto landed on his side and slid through the dirt, thankful that the weapon was stuck.

"Now's my chance!" Naruto yelled as he jumped to his feet. He ran up the arm of the giant and kicked him as hard as he could in the stomach. 'Got him!' Naruto smirked as he flipped away triumphantly. He landed clumsily on his feet, and continued to smirk.

The Ox King scratched his belly and chuckled, causing Naruto to groan. How the hell was he supposed to beat the guy?

"You can't beat me, little kid." A confident smirk crossed his features. "I was trained with the greatest master the world has ever seen!"

Naruto growled. "I bet your Sensei wasn't as great as mine!"

"Oh yeah?" The Ox King said, his smirk morphing into a wide smile. "I was trained by the great Master Roshi!"

Naruto's face displayed a sense of boredom. "Pssht that old bag? Pervy Sage can totally kick his butt!"

The Ox King growled and stumped his large foot, causing the earth to tremble. "Take that back!" he shouted with anger.

Naruto stomped his small foot and glared right back at the giant, fist raised, not giving an inch. "Make me, you big creepy cave man!"

The man began to shake with anger. He refused to let this little boy disrespect him and his master. "I'll crush you!"

"Power pole extend!" Naruto sighed with relief as he heard the familiar voice and he couldn't help the smile that graced his features when he landed next to him. Although he hated to admit it, he knew that he needed Goku's help to finish this guy.

Goku crouched into his fighting stance and smirked at the giant. "You're big, but I can beat you!" he said with confidence.

"You aren't scared?" the Ox King said with surprise.

Goku shook his head vigorously. "My grandpa taught me how to be fearless so I'm not scared."

"Well your grandpa never met me!" The Ox king ran towards Goku, swinging his ax. The young boy jumped away while giggling.

"You're too slow!"

"Why you little-"

"Hiya!" Naruto smirked as he landed a square kick into the back of the giants head. He didn't expect the man to turn around with such speed.

"Gotcha!" A high pitched squeal left the genin's mouth as he was snatched from the air. The armed warrior snickered as he stared at the small child in his hands.

"Let me go, you freak!" Naruto yelled in anger. He was wiggling and trying with all of his strength but he couldn't get the hand to budge.

"Leave Naruto alone!" Goku shouted. His features were no longer playful in the slightest.

"Stay back, or I'll squeeze the life out of him!" the Ox King said with a smirk. He smiled as he added pressure, causing Naruto to whimper in pain.

Goku grit his teeth in anger. He wanted to beat the big man, but he couldn't take his friend being hurt because of him. He slowly returned his pole to his back.

"That's better. Now, turn around!"

"Don't do it Go-ARGH!"

Goku cringed as he saw his friend getting crushed. The loud chuckling of the giant only made him shiver even more.

"Fine!" Goku shut his eyes and turned his back to the giant "Just stop hurting my friend!"

'Friend?' That word was still a foreign concept in Naruto's mind. Although he had people that he were close with, he couldn't name off the top of his head anyone that called him a friend.

"Ho ho ho, you are a smart young one!" The massive man couldn't help but chuckle as he approached the miniature tailed punk. He was going to teach them that you never steal from the Ox King! The man jumped forward in a flash and kicked the young Goku hard in his back.

Goku couldn't help but scream as he tumbled forward from the impact. He continued to yell as he felt his skin and clothing being torn apart from the ground. As his body came to a halt on his back, he saw the large figure directly above him, falling feet first out of the sky. The young boy couldn't even scream as he felt the air being knocked out of him courtesy of the giant boots . Tears streamed down his face as he felt the continued weight of the man on top of him. He looked to Naruto and saw his eyes wide in shock. His mouth was covered by the large man, but he could see that he was still fighting to get free.

The Ox King couldn't help but laugh heartily. "This is what you get, fool!" He jumped into the air at least fifty feet off of the ground and landed back on top of the faint boy. "This is going to be fun!"

XxxoxxX

Neji was training with an injured Tenten. He was rather annoyed that she would challenge him, especially in her condition, but he concluded that it was at least comforting to have someone to take his mind off of everything.

The Hyūga ducked and avoided a swipe of a sword, quickly jumping into the air to dodge a barrage of kunai. He silently cursed as he heard the sizzling of an explosive tag but only had time to throw up his arms in defense. The boy landed awkwardly and slid a couple of feet back.

Tenten looked at her partner quizzically. He never fell for her explosive tags. She could tell that he was conflicted, but didn't want to bother him about it. She instead smirked at the teen. "Hey Neji, it looks like I'm catching up to you!"

Neji snorted. He couldn't believe that his weak ally thought that she could compete with him in combat. He decided that it was time to end this spar, in case she got too cocky. "I wanted to see if you were capable of the title of my rival. Apparently, I must end this as you have failed to impress me."

Tenten grit her teeth at the comment. She hated his arrogance, and she felt like it was time to show him that he wasn't as good as he thought he was, nor she as bad as he seemed to think. Although she knew that winning in her condition was hopeful thinking, even shocking him would be good enough for her. "Then take this!"

The kunoichi summoned a green staff from a scroll and instantly swung at Neji. The boy only dodged, a smug smirk crossing his normally stoic. The girl grit her teeth in annoyance and continued to swing, only to watch as he continued to dodge with seemingly no effort.

Guy watched on as his two remaining pupils duked it out. This spar was a non-jutsu battle, merely a physical workout. Neji was restricted from use of his Jyuuken, while the kunoichi was restricted from her swords. Well, that's what it was on the outside. Really, it was meant as a bonding experience.

Without the ever eccentric Lee it was becoming difficult to keep his team together. His upbeat attitude was necessary to keep the balance of the others; Neji was much too stubborn to want to talk and Tenten didn't care to talk. They both were independent and didn't speak to each other outside of the team. Although they both had flaws, he was mostly worried about Neji. The boy was in danger, and it had nothing to do with this fight.

He could see that something had been on his student's mind. Ever since the tournament he distanced himself from his allies even more, which is a Hell of an accomplishment for the boy. He only showed up to train and left as soon as it was over. He couldn't even begin to explain how rough he was treating Tenten.

The spars were always ruthless. At first he restrained from hurting her, but now he goes all out from start to finish, with little care for her injuries. In their last spar a week ago Tenten had to be taken to the hospital after he reopened a wound left from the Sand kunoichi. Guy had to carry her there, because she didn't want to be around Neji.

This was a grudge match of redemption for Tenten. She was honestly doing good, but he could tell that Neji was through holding back on her.

Neji swiftly ran at Tenten, fingers poised to strike. He dodged the group of kunai sent his way and catapulted over the ax that was thrown haphazardly. A tsk escaped his mouth as the girl withdrew a seal from her pouch and began to spin with it in mid air. A continuous rain of shuriken and kunai were sent shooting after the Hyūga.

The boy's Byakugan led him out of the way of danger. He jumped and twisted out of the way of the weapons with ease, chakra enhanced precise strikes protected him from the weapons that got too close.

With his eyes he watched his teammate, and her smile told him that he messed up. He noticed that she was just completing her signs for a familiar jutsu, one that failed her before.

"Sōshōryū!" the bunned girl yelled. She gripped the two small scrolls behind her and tossed them, gripping kunai after kunai and flinging them with pin point accuracy.

Neji grit his teeth. With that many weapons, he would definitely get hit numerous times. He quickly stopped moving and began swinging his hands to deflect the projectiles. He was being successful, but he was till getting hit every so often. Although his eyes could see them all coming, his body wasn't quick enough to stop them all.

Tenten glared angrily. Her arms were sore from the constant tossing of the weapons and it looked like Neji wasn't going to back down. Although it should've frustrated her, it didn't.

This was a part of the plan, after all.

Neji's eyes narrowed in suspicion as Tenten landed in front of him. His chest rose and fell from exertion but he found some way to make it look elegant. Cuts and bruises littered his body but he stood as if he felt none.

It was time to end this. That last little attack that she used was more annoying than dangerous, but it cost him an outfit. And the smirk that the girl was giving him as if she won?

Hardly.

If he was being honest with himself, the attack decorated the field more than anything. If her plot was to get a Hyūga, the most powerful dōjutsu in the world today, to step on a stray kunai then she was more foolish than optimistic.

"What's your chakra nature?"

The boy was thrown off by the random question. His eyes narrowed slightly as he responded, "why does it matter?"

She cast him a faint smile. "I just was curious, is all. It's fine if you don't want to tell me." Her smile only turned sweeter. "I know that you wouldn't want to make it easier for me to find a way to beat you."

A small chuckle escaped the boys lips, surprising all spectators. "Even if I knew my nature and told you, you still wouldn't be able to beat me."

"Ah," a dangerous glint went through the brown eyes of the kunoichi. "I just learned mine a few days ago. I've actually been waiting to try it out against an actual person."

Neji stiffened at the statement and then moved to strike just as the girl began finishing her seals.

"Raiton: Rakurai Denpa!"

A single orb of electricity flew from the hands of the girl. Neji quickly side stepped it, grunting as sparks reached out and brushed his side. With a recharged vigor he sprung towards the girl, arm posed back to strike. He could see the look of shock on her features as he closed the gap.

Tenten jumped back once more and released another handful of kunai, just as Neji raised a chakra enhanced palm to knock it away, she spoke again.

"Release!"

The potent ball of lightning exploded in a shower of electricity, sending it shooting through everything in sight. Neji released a pines howl as the bolt traveled through the kunai and up his arm. He began to fall quickly and could see the lightning charged field just below him.

It all made sense now; the random throwing of weapons was to set up this electrically charged battlefield. One step in that could spell him the end of this spar. Although he was saving his trick for the exam, he knew that his own safety was much more important than the surprise.

Just as the boy began to gather chakra into all of his pores, he felt something grab him. Neji was shocked at how fast he was moving, much faster than he could hope to muster. As his body came to a stop, he saw that he was standing a few feet out of the war zone.

Tenten was huffing for breath. It caused her a lot of chakra to flow electricity through the weapons for that long, but all she could do was smile. "I win," she spoke triumphantly.

Neji glared at the girl. How dare she claim that she won a fight that was not over. "The battle has just begu-"

"Neji, you lost."

The mentioned teen looked into the eyes of his sensei. Anger overcame him once more, overriding every other emotion. "Why did you intervene? I was fated to win!"

Guy smiled brightly at the scowling boy. "Neji, it was a very youthful battle. I've never been more happy to see your flames shine so brightly! However," Guy looked towards Tenten and smirked, "it looks like your flames were dampened first this time."

Neji felt unbridled rage beginning to form in his heart. He knew that he was going to win this fight, but his crazy Sensei had to ruin it for him. Neji snatched his arm out of Guy's hand. "I'm leaving."

Guy nodded to the boy. "I suppose it is time to call it a day. All of this youthful training has my stomach ready to indulge in some delicious meals!" he looked towards Tenten and gave her a thumbs up. "Congratulations," he said once more. "You two are dismissed."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Neji took off. He was happy to get away from that humiliating defeat. There was only one thing that he could think of the entire way home.

He needed strength, and he knew just how to get it.

XxxoxxX

In a not so conspicuous batch of bushes, not far from where the vehicle housing two of the greatest warriors to walk the planet, two criminals were plotting.

"Is this hot enough Yamcha?"

The mentioned bandit face palmed as He stared at a woman again. The problem was the same as it was the last fifty times: she was short, fat, and ugly.

"No, Puar." The teen began to scratch the back of his head. "I'm starting to think that we need another plan."

The blue cat returned to her original form and sulked. She was trying so hard and failing miserably at it. "I'm sorry, Yamcha."

The bandit smirked. "It's not your fault, buddy. I don't blame you one bit." He began to rub his chin in thought. "Now where will I find a hottie in this area..."

"Aaaah! Aaaah!"

Yamcha slightly turned as he heard a female's voice. He saw a young girl in what could only be described as a blue bikini running at an impressive speed. She wore a pink helmet with a crest on the top that seemed to shine in the sun and boots and gloves to match. As the figure drew close he realized that she was being chased by a giant purple T Rex.

The bandit instantly turned fierce. "Come on, Puar! We have to help her!"

"Ri-"

Before the feline could respond, the girl stopped dead in her tracks not even ten feet from the two, twisting around with her hands on her helmet.

"Stay away!"

The pair could only look on in amazement as the top of the helmet shot off. It cleanly cut the creatures head off and returned to its proper place. Her face then turned green.

"Aaaah! Gross, look at what I've done! I chopped its head right off!" The girl put her pointer and middle finger of each hand to her head and released a wave that completely obliterated the creature.

Yamcha stared on wide eyed. He was both amazed and shocked at the scene. "Now I've seen it all," he mumbled.

"I don't even think she had her eyes open!" Puar yelled nervously.

The shrill screech of the cat caught the girls attention. With a eep she turned towards. Her eyes warily shifted between both of the bandits.

Yamcha dumbly stared back at the girl. "Uh... hi?" After no response (other than getting the dangerous helmet pointed in his direction) he quickly continued. "Nice work!"

The girl nervously reached for her helmet. "I was told to never talk to strangers…."

Yamcha quickly grabbed both hands in his. He missed the instant blush of her cheeks as he began to speak.

"I'm not a bad guy! I promise!" His eyes were pleading for her to believe him. He really didn't think he could survive that beam! "I'm just a traveling salesman and this is my normal cat, Mr. Mittens."

Puar glared at Yamcha. When the boy poked out like a child, he got on all fours and gave the most unconvincing meow of his life. "Her kittens were stolen and I'm trying to get them back!"

The girl covered her mouth in disbelief. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be separated from her father. "That's horrible!"

Yamcha continued his charade. "I know, and Ms. Mittens has been grieving ever since. She won't even eat!"

The girl looked towards the two with suspicion. "How do I know you aren't tricking me?"

Yamcha grabbed Puar and pushed her into the girls face. "Does this look like the face of a liar?"

Puar stared at the girl with a pleading look. She was very great at acting, it was her minor in college.

"No, it doesn't." The girl started petting the kitten, and smiled as it purred. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Yamcha smiled inside his mind. 'Gotcha." He put on a defeated look. "No, I couldn't drag you into this..."

The girl quickly jumped into his face. "No, I insist!" she held her hand out. "I'm Chi-Chi by the way!"

Yamcha smirked at the little girl. "And I'm Yamcha," he shook her hand, and noticed her began to blush. "I know where the guys that took the kittens are. I just need you to distract them while I get the babies. Is that fine?"

Chi-Chi nodded. "What do I have to do?"

Yamcha fought to keep himself from laughing. "Just flirt with them."

Chi-Chi's eyes exploded out of her head. Her face became blood red. "F-f-f-f-flirt with them? But I don't know how to do that. I've never had a boyfriend before."

"That's fine, just talk to them. It shouldn't take me long to get the balls- er, the babies." Yamcha was kicking himself for his own slip up.

Chi-Chi began shuffling from foot to foot. She wondered what her dad would say about this? He would probably get upset, but then calm down once she told him the reason. Chi-Chi firmly nodded. "I will get your babies back, Mr. Mittens!" she said with determination.

XxxoxxX

A/N: sorry. I've been really busy in life, and reading fanfiction is taking up more time than I'd like to admit. You know what to do, review I you'd like!

Raiton: Rakurai: Lightning release: lightning conduction spread


	13. The Wave

A/N: So… somehow I released a chapter too early. Sorry for the mistake, I hope you enjoy this.

The Kamehameha Wave

Under the bright rays of the sun sat an unusual duo, a man and a flying cat. The two were watching from behind a poorly placed stone structure as a pink and blue bikini sporting girl approach the vehicle of their targets. She looked extremely nervous, but the man didn't care. All he wanted was his wish.

"Hey Yamcha," Puar asked, "how come you aren't scared of Chi-Chi? She is a girl, and pretty too."

Yamcha scoffed. "I'm only scared of girls my age. She's nothing more than a pawn too me."

"Oh." Puar turned back towards the girl. She looked like she was having an internal conflict. Her hand was positioned in front of the door, almost as if she were afraid to knock.

To her surprise, a fist sized dirt clump hit the portal, disintegrating on impact. Chi Chi jumped into the door in shock which resulted in an even louder band. She looked back at the two with a mortified expression.

"Who's there?" In an instant the door was sprung open. Chi-Chi crouched and covered her head with a shriek. She noticed the scent of Sake on his breath an instantly evaluated that he was much too old for her.

When she glanced up at the man, she noticed he was much taller than her. He had long wire hair that was hanging loosely off of his shoulder.

"Was that a girl?" She shivered as the higher pitched voice entered her covered ears. He was quickly shoved back into the vehicle as a shirtless older man took his spot. He cleared his throat as he leaned in to get a better look.

The princess shuddered. She was much too young to be involved in something of this caliber. She inhaled deeply and straightened herself. A promise was a promise, and it was her duty to make sure the little kittens were safe. She had a soft spot for baby animals.

"H-hello, boys," she said with a shaky voice. She grimaced as the older man began to chuckle creepily. Chi Chi gulped and began twiddling her fingers while shifting from foot to foot.

Master Roshi couldn't believe it! He was stuck in here with Jiraiya, the man giving an elaborate preach about how he was a literal woman magnet and BAM! Enters hot dame! He reached his hand out to the girl. "Do you wanna come in?"

Chi-Chi's heart skipped a beat. She stared into the man's creepy face and it sent shivers down her spine. She subconsciously took a step back from the vehicle.

"That's enough, you horny old dog." Chi-Chi sighed in relief as the old man was shoved back into the vehicle, his shouts of protest falling on deaf ears. Her happiness was short lived as she was approached though.

He stepped outside and looked the girl up and down. Something about her was extremely familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on it. "Would you be more comfortable if we came out here?"

Yamcha couldn't help but chuckle from his position. Things were going perfectly! He looked to Puar and he nodded and quickly turned into a fly.

Chi Chi nodded to the man. She couldn't understand why she felt so comfortable around him; her father told her to never speak to strangers. She turned and walked away with two men tailing her, one snickering uncontrollably and the other gazing at her with an unreadable expression.

After the two were a good distance from the vehicle, she looked towards Yamcha. The man smirked and nodded at her. Chi-Chi looked back at the men, then her eyes fell to the ground as she came to a stop.

Jiraiya remained silent. "Well?" he asked after a pause.

The girl shakily dug into a pink pouch on her waist. Jiraiya tensed, expecting the girl to grab a weapon. He was surprised to see her remove a small blue tube.

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows in curiosity. The girl held the bottle out towards the men, her eyes clenched shut. "Would you rub this on my back? Please?"

Roshi fell backwards with a trail of blood spewing from his nose. Jiraiya looked at the terrified girl. He had to admit she was pretty, but he liked his woman... well, _woman_.

Chi-Chi was shocked as she felt a pair of hands on hers. She opened her eyes and saw the younger of the old men looking at her, causing her to blush. She was slightly shocked as they began to tighten.

"I'm going to ask you some question's, and it'll be in your best interests not to lie to me, OK?" Chi-Chi nodded through tears as she looked at the man. Although he was calm, she could hear the seriousness in his tone.

"First off," Chi-Chi's eyes quickly widened as she heard a yell. Behind the man she was shocked to see a twin of his walking out of the RV. The most surprising part, however was that he was carrying the two that she met before, both unconscious. The copy dropped them off beside the group of three and disappeared in a pop. "Why are you with these two?"

Chi-Chi trembled even harder. Maybe Yamcha was right, these were bad men! "They-they said that you st-stole the k-k-kittens!"

Jiraiya's eyebrow rose. That was definitely not the answer he expected. He sighed in exasperation. "You do know that this is a highly wanted criminal, right?"

Chi-Chi couldn't believe what the man was saying. She tried to wrench her hands free of his grip but he was just too strong. "Don't lie to me! I know that you two are the bad ones! Let me go or I'll...I'll tell my daddy!"

Jiraiya shook his head. He really didn't want things to go this way. He let go of the girl, the momentum causing the princess to tumble backwards and land hard on her royal bottom.

Chi-Chi stood up and gripped her helmet. Jiraiya was surprised as the blade flew out, but he easily side stepped it.

"Listen kid, it doe- Ah!" At the last second Jiraiya jumped to dodge a wave of energy being shot from her helmet. A dumbfounded expression crossed his face as the beam hit a rock settlement behind him. The expression morphed into horror as the 11 foot structure was vaporized into particles. "What… the…Hey!"

The man dived sideways, avoiding another two blasts from the dangerous accessory. He landed on his hands and pushed up, grimacing as the ground he was previously touching dispersed. A rapid spin later and his hair extended as he twirled, sending the next blast back at the girls feet.

Chi-Chi was sent careening back as the ground beneath her exploded, her shriek heard over the fulmination.

"Damn it girl, I'm not trying to hurt you!" he yelled as he watched another beam fly safely off course, courtesy of her now being airborne. As his hair began to soften once more he heard the sound of wind rushing behind him. A second too late it seemed as he was struck in the thigh by the returning weapon, causing him to yell and fall to the ground.

As he landed again he saw the girl returning to her feet, the blade returning to her helmet with a metallic clink. Jiraiya tried to stand, but grimaced as pain shot up his leg. "Damn it. If I would've died by a girl, I thought it would be Tsunade." He watched as she raised her hand to her hat. With a sad smile he pulled his right arm back. A low hum could be heard as his palm began to glow blue. "Hell, after what I'm about to do she just might do it if she ever finds out..."

"Jiraiya! Master Roshi!"

"Master Roshi?" the energy the girl was gathering quickly sizzled away. Releasing a relieved sigh, the humming behind the Sannin stopped when he realized he was no longer in danger. He glance to the north and saw a motor scooter quickly approaching. Jiraiya couldn't help but smile as he saw the girl riding it.

Bulma quickly pulled up beside the group. She quickly took in the scene and shook it off. "Jiraiya! Hey, what happened to Master Roshi?" she asked as she saw him laid out in a pool of blood. "And why's Yamcha here? OH KAMI WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG!?" Chi-Chi couldn't help but blush as she dug her foot in the sand.

Jiraiya looked between the two girls. "Long story," he mumbled irritably. Chi-Chi looked away sheepishly, noticeably ignoring eye contact with the sage.

"Never mind that," Bulma shouted as she shook her head. "Goku and Naruto are getting beat up by a giant! They need your help!"

The old unconscious man groaned as he slowly sat up. He looked at the scene before him with little interest, at least until they landed on Chi-Chi. "Do ya still need that lotion?"

Chi-Chi's head sprung up at this, ignoring the blush that was regenerating in her face. "M-Master Roshi! My dad told me to get Master Roshi!" She quickly ran to the man's side and gripped his shoulders, shaking him vigorously

"Alright already! I'm here so I'll help ya!" the man said as he pushed her away. He slowly sat up and rubbed his head. "Where do you live?"

"That way!" she pointed in the direction Bulma just came from.

Bulma decided now was a good time to interrupt. "Are you forgetting about your two students?"

Jiraiya grunted in annoyance, applying light chakra to his leg. "They're obviously in the same direction. You sure you're a Briefs?" He mumbled the last sentence under his breath.

"Oh yeah," Bulma said. She turned and ran to the vehicle. "Load up! We don't have any time to waste!"

Chi-Chi saw Jiraiya struggling to stand and quickly ran to help him. "I'm sorry," she said softly, but he shrugged it off with a smile.

"I've dealt with worse than this by my own teammates. Don't beat yourself up for it." He grimaced as he landed too hard on the hurt leg. In a puff of chakra he was he was flanked by three clones. One grabbed both of his captors and the other two helped him to walk. "Let's just hope we make it in time to save my boys."

XxxoxxX

"So, you've decided that you want more power?"

Neji was kneeling at the feet of the mysterious man he met before. He was anxious and desperate so kneeling before him didn't faze him one bit.

Besides, fate forced him to kneel before others an immeasurable amount of times already. From the Main Branch to the Hokage and Jonin instructors. Was his fate to forever be on his knees?

No.

"Please, teach me to be strong."

The man smiled as he looked Neji up and down. He would never understand Orochimaru's interest in the Uchiha, the Hyūga were much more powerful. Their eyes came with less risks, and they are taught finesse at a young age.

Besides, the Uchiha were all destroyed by a single member of their clan. It was no way that they were as strong as they boasted to be, to be defeated by a _child?_ Pitiful.

He wouldn't dare say that in front of said child, but that's beside the point.

"Good." The man walked towards Neji and put a hand on his shoulder. "But first, you must prove to me your worth."

Neji gripped his pants leg. He was tired of proving himself, his name was already well known amongst his peers. He was fine with it, however. He never failed at anything in his life.

"Anything, Sensei."

"Don't regret those words, boy." Neji flinched at the coldness in the man's tone. The air around the two seemed to get colder, and he couldn't help but notice a breeze that blew his hair into his face.

The man continued to smile. Everything was playing into his palms perfectly. He figured that it would take some work on his part, but the boy was far too gone already.

"Destroy the Uchiha."

Neji grit his teeth. He felt disrespected by the mission that he was given. "Do you feel that I would lose to the boy? Have you no faith in my skills?" He rose to his feet, still glaring at the man as he lowered into his stance. "I would be more than happy to show you how foolish of a claim that would be."

"Down, boy!" Neji was startled by the outburst. He felt an enormous wave of killer intent flowing from him, even more than when he faced Hiashi. He slowly lowered his gaze to the ground and fell back down to one knee, fighting fruitlessly to stop trembling.

"Heh, that's better." The man snickered at his obedient pet. Subservience was vital to his team. "I do not doubt your strength. I don't want you to just win," a cold smile spread across his face, "I want you to beat him until his miserable life is on the line. Then, once you succeed in that, beat him some more." The mans calm demeanor was quickly evaporating as he continued his rant. "Make him beg for mercy while his blood drips from your palms. And when he begs, rip his tongue out!" The man was gasping for breath at the end of his tirade.

Neji shivered on the ground. He didn't have any personal grudge against Sasuke, he was better than the boy and everyone knew it. He was looking forward to his match with him but now, he was dreaming of it. He couldn't help but smirk as he thought about it. "It will be done."

"Oh, I know." The man slowly began levitating, his eyes lowered at the boy still on the ground. "For if you don't, then I will personally kill you."

The floating man smirked as the boy flinched, having been struck with a potent dose of killing intent. Most men would have been left hysterical, but the boy only jumped, an admirable feat."Good. Your will is strong. Our training begins tomorrow, 5 pm sharp. Any later and you will regret it." With those parting words the man was gone. Neji grit his teeth as the wind and dust was sent into his face, adding more dirt to his ruined apparel.

Neji rose to his feet, wiping the dust off of his knee. No matter how many times he was lowered to it he would never get used to the feeling. The feeling of servitude, of being caged by more than just his seal. He wanted to be free.

He wanted to fly.

He watched as the man flew away, or it could have been a bird. Regardless, he was excited for the morrow. Freedom was closer than it had ever been.

He could taste it.

XxxoxxX

Naruto struggled to free himself from the giants grasp. The large man was sitting on the small frame of Goku, laughing as the boy squirmed beneath him.

"Hahahaha! What's the matter? Is the smoke stopping you from breathing?" the man laughed again at his joke, the same one he was saying for the last two minutes.

Naruto cursed himself. This moment he really wished that he could used a substitution jutsu! If only he paid attention in Iruka sensei's class, Goku wouldn't be in this situation!

The giant seemed to get tired of the boy under him. "Hmm, I'm hungry." He looked at Naruto with a smile. "Unfortunately for you, I really enjoy cats for breakfast."

Naruto's eyes widened at the statement. He squirmed like he never did before to get loose, but to no avail. The man merely snickered as he watched the boy in his hand. He tossed Naruto into the air and opened his mouth wide.

Naruto struggled as much as he could, but the Ox held on tightly. The boy began to panic even more frantically, screaming his lungs off for help. With a mighty shove he was pushed into the mouth of the giant.

The Ox King chuckled, releasing a belch. "That wasn't too filling, but it was something. I hope his friend is just as good!" The man rose to his mighty feet and looked at the hero. The boy was plastered on his back, mouth wide open.

"Must've ran out of air. Serves him right for screaming so much!" The man used two fingers to lift the boy by his tail, smirking at his prey. A frown crossed his face. He squeezed the tail, the smirk returning as the boys eyes widened and he began to scream louder than before. "Don't want ya to die yet, I like my food fresh!"

The man opened his mouth, but a pained expression crossed his face. He put his other hand to his stomach. "Must've been something I ate… I think I'm gonna be sick..," he mumbled, opening his mouth once more, unknowingly releasing a mighty roar.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The beast of a man bent over with a heave, just as his last meal came pouring out, much more than he ate in fact. The blonds shouted obscenities and took a swing at whatever part of the giant they could as they fell.

"Kyojin no Gōon!" With a mighty howl, the horde of orange was cleared, save for one.

"Let Goku go!" The boy rushed back at the man, arm cocked back to punch. A might roar escaped his lips as he charged with all of his speed, leaping at the last moment to gain momentum-

-and was swatted out of the air with a simple back hand. The shinobi was sent back like a bullet, crashing through two flaming houses before luckily landing on the hood of a burnt out vehicle. A groan escaped his lips as he tried his best to clear the stars out of his vision.

The giant placed his capture on the ground. He had been still for a while so it was safe to assume that he passed out again. The giant then rose to his feet, glaring down at his foe.

The blond was back on his feet, albeit wobbly. He growled in frustration, mentally willing the dizziness away and thanking whatever god was out there that it was working. His eyes were shut throughout the process. When they finally did open, he prayed that this was just another dizzy hallucination.

Naruto gulped audibly. He hadn't realized the size difference until he was standing alone against the beast. The slow and steady rhythm of his ax onto his palm which was utterly in sync with the approaching footsteps did little to help calm his shaking.

The bearded figure chuckled. "Are you cold or somethin'? Most people sweat on this mountain not shiver!" He slapped his knee, resulting in an echo that could be heard a mile away.

Naruto growled at the remark. He was tired of being scared! Sure, the man was big and strong, but he was a Genin of the Hidden Leaf! How could he become Hokage if he couldn't even beat one overgrown cow?

Another step closer, five more and he was here. The heavy appendage crushed a boulder larger than the boy and his heart along with it. He took a reflexive step back, to which the giant snickered in amusement.

Noticing movement, he glanced behind the man. It was then that a question crossed his mind. What would Goku do?

Four steps away.

Thinking like the black haired idiot was nearly impossible. The boy could be dense one second and serious the next. He did everything on impulse, but with a grace that could come only from years of dedicated training and experience.

Three steps.

The giant raised his ax lazily. The boy shut his eyes to not see his approaching doom. His arms raised to cover his head and neck on impulse. The shivering became trembling, the chuckling became laughter, and life became a word that used to hold meaning to our young hero. Ready to give up, the boy began to lower to his knees.

"Naruto."

Two steps.

One word. One word, from one voice was all it took. Naruto opened his eyes, straightening his legs in one swift motion. In that moment blue eyes met onyx, and everything suddenly made sense.

The look in Goku's eyes said it all. The combined look of pain and anger, but more prominently determination. Although Naruto didn't know what the tailed boy would do in this situation, he knew what he wouldn't do.

He wouldn't give up.

A determined glint in his eyes and the teen did one of the two things he were good at.

One.

The second that the mans foot hit the ground, all hell exploded.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The blond poured as much chakra as he could into the technique. As much as he would like to exaggerate, he couldn't make up the scene that unfolded.

The space around the three was literally flooded with clones, easily nearing the thousands. They popped up everywhere, in every nook and cranny. While this may sound cool, you must remember one thing.

They were on a mountain surrounded by fire.

With the creation of that many clones in the area, nearly a quarter were immediately destroyed with howls of pain from the mighty unnatural flames.

The main body dropped in pain, screaming and patting himself as his body burned with some flame that he couldn't see. This was a good move on his part as the ax sliced through the area he was standing in, taking a horde of clones with it.

"I'll kill all of you!" Another slice and he was closer to keeping true to the promise. "All! All! A-oof!"

The king was cut off as a small fist made itself known to his face. He was surprised to be pushed back by the blond, and even more shocked to see the unusual raven hair in the sea of gold. The black eyes met his covered ones, black eyes that held a silent fury.

"It's not nice to hit people from behind!" he shouted, teeth grit in frustration.

The behemoth growled as he was attacked from all angles by the doppelgängers. For each hit he took, a series of popping could be heard, but even so the wave seemed endless.

Naruto glanced towards his partner, noting the damage that was taken because of his weakness. The boy's eyes seemed to be taking in every small detail of the fight. His fist would tighten periodically as if he expected the giant to break free at any second.

"Fūton: Kyōdaina Senpū!" The beast swung at an extremely rapid pace, destroying each of the clones that surrounded him. As he slowed down, he swung the ax one more time to clear the air of the smoke that appeared from the clones dispersing.

"You're starting to piss me off…" he growled in anger. The giant was red in the face from the effort of fighting hundreds of men, but he was relatively fine save for a few bruises.

Goku took this moment to spring at the man. Their fists met mid way, a boom echoing throughout the area. The small child used his momentum to push himself off, returning with a kick that was blocked once again. This dance continued, with the hero unable to land a significant hit on his opponent.

Naruto watched the scene unfolding with serious eyes. It seemed as if Goku was moving faster than before, and his attacks seemed a tad more vicious. The determined glare remained on his face even as he was struck, rolling with the punches to return his own. The last backhand from the man sent the boy flinging back towards his partner, who barely caught him mid air before they both tumbled.

The two scrambled to their feet, heads spinning in rhythm. Naruto weakly laughed, even though it hurt his side to do so. "Goku?"

The mentioned boy continued to stare out of his one open eye at the figure approaching. "Yeah?"

"We're so screwed."

Goku chuckled weakly. "I don't know what that means, but I guess your right."

The large figure was less than twenty feet from the two. They both struggled to stand, and the trembling ground from the large footsteps weren't helping. He cocked his blade back and prepared to end both of the boys with one final swipe. Naruto closed his eyes, prepared to meet his fate.

"Daddy STOP!"

The large figure slid to a halt. His blade was stopped inches from the face of the two boys. They both were breathing hard, both from fatigue and fear.

"Chi-Chi?" The man turned around and saw his daughter running towards him, holding onto the hand of a smiling old man. He gripped his ax even harder. "I TOLD you, you are too young for BOYFRIENDS!"

"Is that you, Gyumao?"

The large figure dropped his ax. He hadn't heard anyone call his name in years, it sounded strange in a sense. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the man.

"M-master Roshi!" The giant took off in a full sprint towards the old man. "It's really you!"He fell to his knees in front of the man, which was an amusing sight since he still towered him by feet.

Master Roshi jumped high and clocked the giant on the head. "Is that how you show respect? Attacking kids to keep your treasure safe?"

Gyumao rubbed the sore spot on his helmet "I'm sorry Master."

"Well you should be. While you were over here being a waste of space, my other student has become an author!"

"A best selling author, actually." Jiraiya corrected as he rode onto the scene with a certain girls scooter. Behind him was a disgruntled Bulma, her hair and clothing a mess from the heat and fatigue.

Gyumao's face turned into a wide smile. "Jiraiya!" he yelled as he sprinted toward the man.

Jiraiya's face was drained of color. "Oh no-don't do it-stay back-AIIIYYY!" Jiraiya released a high pitched squeal as he was pulled into a deathly bear hug. His hurt leg dangled lifelessly as he was spun around in circles.

"Jiraiya! Jiraiya my brother how I've missed you!" the man danced as he clung onto his longtime friend, Hell his only friend that he had left.

Jiraiya groaned as he fought to free himself. "Missed you two, now can you PLEASE put me down?"

"Oh, sorry hehe." Jiraiya was dropped down onto the ground unceremoniously. A healthy Sannin would've caught himself with ease. An injured one , however fell pitifully onto his back, groaning curses at his friend. Why did all of his loved ones seem to beat him up?

Chi-Chi approached the two forgotten boys that were watching the scene leaning onto each other. They looked pretty beat up, in the nicest way possible. This was the first time she'd ever seen people her age before. A prominent blush pushed itself upon her face as she got close enough to touch them. Besides, they were kind of cute... OK, _very_ cute.

"Hi, I'm Chi-Chi!" she said with a wide smile.

Both boys turned to the girl slowly. They didn't even realize her approach, they were still silently celebrating being alive. Goku decided to be the first to speak. "Hi, my name's Go-"

Goku was cut off as he felt Naruto, the person holding him up, collapse. He followed suit and fell on top of the boy, his head hitting the ground. They both were passed out in seconds.

Chi-Chi looked at the boys with a shy smile. "Oh my gosh, I think I like Go!"

XxxoxxX

After an hour of the old guys catching up, the young guys getting patched up, and the and a certain young girl watching the boys as they healed, tensions between the giant and the kids calmed down.

"So, you need me to put out the fire?" Master Roshi asked as he rubbed his chin.

"Yeah, I thought that you may have had the Bansho fan with you."

Jiraiya chuckled. "You were using that as a door mat the last time I checked."

Roshi's face burned a bright red. "W-well I don't need no stinkin' fan. I have the greatest weapon on earth right here!" the man pointed to his skinny arms.

"Yeah right," Naruto grumbled to himself. Unfortunately, the old man could hear him.

"I'll show you!" Master Roshi removed his shirt, displaying his slim figure. He flexed his arms and began to power up.

Goku's eyes widened with surprise. "Wow! Look at him!"

Naruto also couldn't believe what he was seeing. The man's body began to expand, his skinny frame quickly bursting with muscles.

Master Roshi put his hands together in a meditative pose. He then pulled them apart and released a growl, his muscles expanding to an unreal size.

"W-what the heck is he?" Bulma asked as she hugged a blushing Naruto.

Jiraiya smirked at the man. "He's my Master."

The old man held one hand forward as he concentrated. White energy began to gather in that hand and travel down towards the rest of his body.

"He's going to do the Kamehameha Wave!" the Ox King yelled in excitement.

"Kaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeehaaaaaaameeeeeee…"

Jiraiya grimaced as he saw the amount of energy being gathered. "That's too much old man! Your going to destroy the castle if you keep that up!"

Chi-Chi's eyes widened. "No, not the castle!"

A large sphere of white energy began gathering at the mans fingertips to the amazement of everyone watching. After Jiraiya's outburst, they saw it began to shrink to a smaller size.

"Haaaaaa!" a beam of pure white energy shot towards the castle. The large fire began to glow white, and then it slowly disappeared. To everyone's delight, the castle remained standing, but the old man collapsed onto his butt.

"Wow! That was amazing!" both teen boys yelled as they sprung to their feet.

"My castle!" Gyumao ran to his old master and scooped him into a bear hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"Heh heh no problem! You just have to promise to never hurt anyone again!"

The giant nodded with a goofy grin on his face. "I promise!"

"Good! Now, would you happen to have anything to eat in there? _Someone_ refuses to feed me."

Bulma growled. "Well _someone_ doesn't understand I'm not on the menu!"

"I was only fooling!"

"I'm only fifteen!"

"Enough!" Jiraiya groaned. The two looked at each other and huffed.

"Of course I'll cook for you! Just let me go and hunt some boar, and I'll be back in a jiffy! Chi, show them around the castle!"

Chi-Chi saluted her father. "You got it Daddy!"

As the Ox King ran off, both Goku and Naruto ran towards the turtle hermit.

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Huh canya?"

"Please?"

Master Roshi nodded to the boys. "Sure, but it'll take you fifty years to learn the Kamehameha Wave."

Naruto groaned. "Fifty years? You'll be dead then, so I won't be able to show it off!"

Goku turned away from Naruto and began to mimic the old man, just at a quicker pace. "Kamehameha!" The group was amazed as a small wave came from the boy's hands, hitting a nearby house. The structure collapsed in on itself, and his face lit up in happiness.

"Y-ya did good, boy," the master remarked. This boy learned in seconds his life work!

Try as he might it was impossible to hide the shock.

"No fair! I was gonna do it first!"shouted the attention seeking blond. Naruto copied the same motion. He held his hands back and began to gather energy. "Kamehame-huh?"

To the amusement of some but the disgust of others, the boy released a fart that he hadn't known he was holding. All of the gathered energy dispersed as his rotting gases filled he and his partners noses.

"Needs work, dontcha think?" responded a smirking sannin. His smile could only widen as the boys face out-red a tomato.

"Chi-Chi," said a Bulma with her nose covered, "do you mind showing me the bathroom?"

The mentioned girl quickly nodded, running off and away from the smell. "Follow me!"

XxxoxxX

Sorry guys. It took a long time, and I'm sure you aren't satisfied with a previous chapter, but the next is in the works right now. I hope this was good enough to sate your appetites for the mean time.


	14. A Parents Love

A/N: If you're new to this story by June 5, 2018, then this doesn't apply to you. To those whom it does however, you may want to go back a chapter. In my haste to post, I actually skipped chapter 13, so it is now up. Please enjoy!

A Parents Love

Sasuke lay on the ground, exhausted beyond belief. His chest rose and fell mightily as he attempted to control his breathing.

Although his training with Kakashi ended hours ago that didn't stop him from doing his own regimen. His eyes burned from the amount of stress he put on the sharingan. According to the scrolls in his family archives this was a way to let your body acclimate to the chakra drain that came from using the dōjutsu.

Still hurt like hell though.

The boy dragged himself into a sitting position. He decided that this was enough training for the day; it was beginning to get dark. His stomach chose that moment to remind him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast.

He slowly rose to his feet, ignoring the pounding in his head and eyes. Sasuke instantly took to the trees towards the dango shop, one of the few places he could eat without being bothered… unless Ino was there.

It was only a week until the exams and he was more than excited. He learned a strong jutsu and also drastically improved his movement speed and strength. He was more than ready for the sand kid, the Hyūga snob, and especially his dead last partner.

To say that Sasuke was worried about the fights would be a joke. He was only interested in testing his skills against the best genin. Every moment of this test was preparing him for the pending confrontation with his brother. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in the dobe's skill after training with the Sannin, but he'd be a much worse lier to say that he was concerned. Regardless, he was more than ready to face any challenger that faced him.

There were only three opponents that had a chance of giving him a problem. Rock Lee was a freak of nature. The boys speed and strength was ridiculous, and he couldn't help but notice that he was holding back during their spar. Although the boy was injured gravely against Gaara, he was sure to challenge him once he healed.

Sasuke was also concerned about the one called Gaara. The red haired boy beat Rock Lee while barely moving! His sand was fast and precise and seemed to act on its own will. He was prepared to test his new skill against the seemingly perfect defense.

And then there was Neji.

Neji didn't win Rookie of the Year off of some fluke. No, the boy was obviously talented. He never saw him fight, but the stories of his ruthlessness was whispered like a ghost story. He heard that on a mission he once beat a shinobi so bad that the man begged for death, but he instead chose to continue to kick him around. Sasuke couldn't help but wince at the thought of that.

The boys sandals clicked lightly as he landed in the front of the shop. He walked in and took a seat in the back, alone from any other customers. He sat patiently, waiting for someone to come and take his order.

"Sasuke!" the boy flinched as he heard his name shrieked in the building. He turned and saw a familiar patch of pink hair and couldn't help but groan. Did she not yet understand that he didn't want her?

"What?" the boy said sternly as she rushed towards him. He couldn't help but notice that trailing her was his classmates Ino, Shikamaru and Choji, as well as a boy that he never met before. The kid had blue clean cut hair and was wearing a brown shirt with black shorts. He noticed Shikamaru sigh and mutter something, and he didn't need his eyes to tell that it was his signature phrase.

Sakura helped herself to a seat beside the boy, ignoring his glare. "We came to eat, and I guess we'll be eating with you today!" The rest of the group silently took their seat, Choji across from him with Ino to his side while Shikamaru sat beside Sasuke. The new kid looked around nervously, and was quickly pulled onto the floor beside Ino. Sasuke was surprised that Ino simply gave him a smile and nothing more.

At least someone got the message.

As everyone gathered around Shikamaru decided to be the one to speak. "So, Ino, you said Naruto did what now?" This caught Sasuke's attention. He tried his best to look uninterested, staring at his laced knuckles in front of him instead.

Ino's eyes widened and a smile crossed her face. "Oh yeah! So we ran into this bandit, I believe his name was Yamcha, and he had a cat-"

"Wait, you mean THE Yamcha?" Sakura asked with a shriek.

Ino nodded. "Yep! And he had a cat with him, named Puar!"

Sakura sighed dreamily. "Is he as hot as they say?"

"No, he's even hotter!" both girls squealed in delight while Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Girls," he mumbled.

"Food!" Choji yelled as the waiter came to their table with a large helping of sticks of dango. As she placed them he didn't hesitate to dig in.

Shikamaru huffed at that. "Did you guys fight him? If so, I'm sure that must be the reason that Kiba and Hinata are in the hospital."

Ino's eyes lost the excitement. She slowly nodded. "He was so strong," she began, softer than most of them ever heard her. "Kiba fought him first, and he was doing a good job. Yamcha's cat then turned into a skunk and shot them with a really smelly gas." Ino's nose scrunched up at the memory. "While their nose were going out of whack, he began to pummel the two. The cat took out Akamaru, and Yamcha beat Kiba to the ground.

Sakura paused from her chewing. "You're telling me… that Akamaru... was beaten by a cat? That is highly unlikely. A canine is far superior to a feline."

Ino nodded slowly. "The cat became a hammer and knocked him out!"

Choji continued smacking as he spoke. "So, a henging cat? That's not strange at all."

"Maybe he was a summon?" Shikamaru replied with his chin on his hand. "That's the only explanation that I can think of."

"Enough already!" Sakura yelled in annoyance. "What happened next?"

"Oh! Hinata decided to fight him after Kiba was down." The table got really silent at this. Everyone had a soft spot for the shy girl. "She did good for a while, she even hit one of his arms with her Jūken strikes, taking it out. But Yamcha was good... really good." Tears began to gather in the girl's eyes. Mark put a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to smile. "When things were going bad, that's when Goku and Naruto showed up.

Sasuke tensed up at this. He was glaring at Ino, ignoring the pain that his eyes were in. Was this the person that Naruto beat?

"Goku?" Shikamaru asked curiously. "Is that the boy with the tail?"

"Tail?" Sakura was the confused one now. She eyed Ino with one eye brow rose. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah she's sure!" Everyone turned and looked at Mark. This was the first time he spoke since they came, so they were all surprised. "He had a tail, and he was just as ugly as a monkey!"

"What happened with the dobe?" Sasuke asked, irritated with the entire situation.

Ino decided to continue her story. "Well when they came, Goku punched him so hard that he looked like he was going to pass out!" All eyes widened at the declaration. "Then Naruto tried to fight him, but the guy ran away."

Sasuke calmed down. He decided that maybe Kakashi was just messing with him to make him train harder. He'd be sure to punch him extra hard for his betrayal in training.

"So you're telling me…" Shikamaru began again, "that this 'Goku' kid just arrived on the scene, punched Yamcha THE Desert Bandit in the gut, and boom he quit?" At Ino's nod, he muttered his favorite word once more.

"And then Kurenai Sensei came back and we went to West City and met Mark and his mom." The table was once again silent. Everyone except Sasuke knew about the untimely death of Kurenai's mother. "While we were recovering in the hospital, a man attacked. The creep had mouths on his hands, it was gross! He used them to make bombs!"

Shikamaru shook his head. He was happy that he was exempt from the mission. It sounded like it was much more than he was willing to handle. "Would this man's name happen to be Deidara?"

Ino's eyes widened in realization."Yes! We went to save the people, me,Goku and Naruto that is, and the guy followed us! Goku decided to handle it while me and Naruto escaped, but it kind of backfired since he still found us. He attempted to kill me, and that's when Naruto snapped."

Sakura's head turned slightly at that. "What do you mean snapped?" No one noticed his hand clench under the table.

"He just, I don't know, snapped! He got so powerful that I could SEE his chakra. It formed into a tail, and he began howling and running on all fours like an animal. He became," her eyes lowered to the table. She was looking for the right words to say, but she couldn't think of an appropriate one, "a monster," she lightly added.

Sasuke quickly sprung to his feet, to the surprise of everyone. He turned to walk away, but his wrist was grabbed by Sakura.

"Sasuke? Where are you-"

"I'm leaving!" Sasuke snapped at the girl without looking back. He snatched his wrist from her, resulting in a light yelp.

"B-but-"

"Hey, do you have a problem or somethin'?"

Everyone was shocked to see Mark on his feet, glaring at the Uchiha. Sasuke looked back at the boy, annoyed at his presence.

Mark became bolder and stepped towards Sasuke. "Do you not hear me?" he yelled with fury. At this time, all eyes in the shop were on the two. "We were having a nice conversation and you just gonna walk away like that? Why you gotta be so rude?"

Ino felt the waves of killing intent flowing off of Sasuke. She grabbed Mark's shirt, but he pulled away from her. "Mark, stop-"

"No, he needs to learn his lesson!" Mark was now standing behind the Uchiha, glaring daggers into his back.

Sasuke chuckled. "And you're going to be the one to teach it to me?" he responded darkly. Shikamaru grimaced as he saw something purple coming from his neck. He slowly rose to his feet with Choji following suit.

Mark growled. He didn't care if this kid was a ninja, he wouldn't let him disrespect a lady! "You're damn right!" he yelled as he lunged for the boy.

Before he could connect Sasuke turned and grabbed him by the neck, throwing him into the wall with a crash. Sasuke quickly jumped onto him, his hand cocked back to attack. As Mark stared into his eyes, he was frozen. The once black eyes were now a blazing red and spinning madly.

He was terrified.

Sasuke tried to attack the boy, but realized that he was frozen. "Stay out of this, Nara!" he roared at his classmate.

Shikamaru struggled to keep his hold. "Choji, get Mark and get the Hell out of here!" he groaned out as he took a step back, Sasuke following suit. Choji nodded and grabbed the tear stricken Mark, quickly running out with the small boy in his arms.

Shikamaru sighed as he released his hold on the boy. He knew that he was in danger of him turning on him, but he was sure that he could handle himself. Sasuke turned towards the boy and gave him one final glare. He then looked around at the shop: all eyes were on him.

It was then that Sasuke noticed the one pair of eyes that he recognized. His black and red eyes stared into the icy blue of another pair, one that stared at him with interest. Sasuke grit his teeth and walked out of the shop, sprinting all the way towards his home.

Shikamaru released a sigh as the Sasuke left. He looked towards his two remaining companions. They both looked scared and shocked. "What a drag..."

XxxoxxX

In a large castle atop a no longer covered in Fire Mountain, a large feast was being held. Six figures sat gathered around a great mahogany table that was over flowing with food. Before proper blessings could be made, the two adolescent boys began to dig in.

Everyone looked on as Naruto and Goku stuffed their faces with different types of meat, rice, vegetables, and everything in between. The food was quickly disappearing, thanks to the two growing boys.

"Wow, Goku, you sure can eat!" the Ox King shouted with a chuckle.

"My grandpa told me the same thing!" Goku responded with a wide smile. He grabbed a fried piece of meat and picked it clean in less than a second.

Jiraiya's eyebrow rose. "Who was your grandpa?"

Goku gave the largest smile the man had ever seen on his face. "Grandpa Gohan!"

The three older figure's jaws dropped, along with the food they were consuming. They didn't know how they didn't piece it together: the outfit, the power pole, even the nice manners. "He was really strong!"

Master Roshi nodded slowly. "I know, I taught him myself."

Chi-Chi listened intently to the man speak. She could hear the pride in his voice, almost as if he were speaking about his own child.

Goku dropped the bone that he was chewing on. "Really?" Stars shone in his eyes as he leaned forward.

Roshi nodded with a smile. "Yep, him and his son! Ain't that right, Jiraiya?"

All heads turned towards the old man. A slow smile spread across his face as he looked at Goku. No wonder he was so attached to the kid! He limped over to the boy (Gyumao gave him a cane, he refused to ask where he got it) and patted him on the shoulder. "How's the old man doing?" he asked with a smirk.

Goku continued staring up at the man. "He's dead."

The room fell completely silent, save for the clattering of Naruto's fallen chopsticks in hi bowl. The sound seemed deafening in the quiet room.

Jiraiya's face was torn between pained and shock. He stumbled forward, his hand unconsciously gripping the boy's shoulder tighter. "What?" he whispered. "He…. How?"

Goku shrugged. "Some giant monster killed him one night. I didn't see it. I was sleeping."

Jiraiya winced. His old man was most likely trying to keep it from getting to the kid.

He slowly pulled his hand from Goku's shoulder. "I need a minute," he said softly as he hobbled out of the room. His footsteps sounded loud on the sooty marble as he headed towards the deck.

Goku watched the man leave, then continued to eat. Roshi and the Ox King both looked torn from the news, the King seeming like he wanted to cry. Chi-Chi put her hand on her fathers large thigh, and he quickly scooped her into a hug. Naruto took the distraction to scuttle after his sensei.

Master Roshi was sad about the situation, but decided that now wasn't the best time to show it. He firmly believed that you grieve on your own. "Say, how did your castle get set on fire anyway?"

The Ox King paused from his hugging, his face changing from sadness to anger. He gently placed his daughter down and patted her head. "Hey, Chi-Chi? Why don't you and Goku go and find out what Bulma's up too."

"OK daddy!" Chi-Chi said with a smile. She grabbed Goku's hand and took off with him deeper into the castle.

As the two watched her disappear, the large man sighed. "Well, it happened a few years after Chi-Chi was born."

XxxoxxX

The Ox King was outside, playing with his two year old daughter. He was in the middle of a game of hide and seek with his beloved daughter. Chi Chi was sitting in the middle of the field, covering her eyes.

"Where's Chi Chi? I can't seem to find her anywhere!" he said with a grin. "Hey, Mr. Bird! Have you seen Chi Chi?" The small creature looked at the man and took off in a panicked scramble. "Chi Chi!" he called to no one in particular.

The man turned his back to his daughter, and was surprised to see a masked man in the front of him. "Who are you?" he asked the figure. His body instantly tensed as a single sharingan stared back. He looked away, knowing very well what it could do with a single glance. The man wore a long black hood with chains falling from the sleeve. His mask was orange with black stripes going across. A single hole exposed one eye, one that he .

"Where's Urya?" the figure calmly asked. The deep voice spoke in a tone that seemed used to getting its way.

"I'm afraid she isn't with us anymore," he said sadly. "Now again, who are you?"

The man cracked his chain into the ground, leaving a large gash. "Where is she!?"

Gyumao looked over his shoulder. He saw that Chi Chi was peeking at him, but began giggling and covered her face once again. "She died, giving birth to our child," he responded not as calmly. "Now can you please leave us? I'm trying to play with my daughter."

Gyumao turned back towards the man and saw that he was no longer there. The parent in him panicked and he turned back towards his daughter. He froze as he saw the man tickling the giggling girl with one hand. "Get away from her!" he yelled in panic as he sprinted towards them.

"Uh uh uh," the man raised his other hand and revealed a gleaming kunai. Gyumao froze as he lowered it towards the girl. "We don't want any accidents, do we?" he said as he stroked the girls hair, eyes trained on the father.

"Please, I'd do anything!"

"Is that so?" The man slowly rubbed the girls face which made her giggle. She looked at her dad with a smile.

"Daddy! I like Unco Mask!" the advanced child said with a smile.

Gyumao fell to his knees, his eyes never leaving his daughter. "Please! She's all I have left!"

"Then you will do as I say." The man lifted the girl up, and she wrapped around his neck, nuzzling her face into his coat. "I will take the girl, but I promise-"

"You can't take her!" he yelled with both fear and fury. He didn't stop the stream of tears falling down his face body slowly began to grow. "I won't let you!"

The man chuckled. "I wasn't asking for your permission."

Gyumao's eyes were trained on the chest of the man. He didn't know this shinobi, but he knew he was an Uchiha. He would have to avoid making eye contact, as well as finding out what perks his eye came with.

Not to mention that he'd have to do it without hurting his daughter.

After a pregnant pause, Gyumao fell to his knees once more. His body vibrated with sobs as he clutched the grass.

Chi Chi looked at her father, and became concerned. "Daddy? You cuwyin?"

"Please… she's all I have left..."

"And I need her," The shinobi spoke matter of factly. "If you attempt to interfere, you will die."

Chi Chi didn't know what the man was saying, but she wanted her Daddy! She squirmed to get away, but the man maneuvered her under his armpit to give him use of both hands. Tears began to form at her eyes. "Daddy? Daddy!" she screamed.

"Ka…"

All eyes looked around as a voice began chanting. Nothing could be seen, but a great humming could be heard coming from everywhere.

The Uchiha snorted as he glanced around. "Reinforcements, I take it?"

"Me..."

The giant knew that voice. His heart picked up in his chest. As he rose to his feet.

"Ha…"

The masked intruder glanced to his left and saw a quickly approaching golden cloud. Atop the object was an old man with his hands pulled back. He could see a mass amount of ki being directed towards his palms.

The Uchiha threw a handful of shuriken, grunting in annoyance as the cloud maneuvered it's way around them. He quickly completed seals, ending on tiger.

"Me…"

The crouching man was now only a hundred feet away and closing in rapidly. Inside his hands was a blue orb with a light so intense that it was near blinding.

The Uchiha waited another one and three eights of a second, a time that was forever to his eyes, until the man was only ten feet away.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" The man spit forth a fireball that was three times his size, right in the face of the new arrival. The flames consumed him and turned the cloud into vapor.

The Uchiha felt as if something was off; he saw the flames hit, but he didn't feel the impact. He could see a silhouette of the man in his flames… but…

"HA!"

The masked man was hit in his back, but the wave only passed through him and the screaming child. He turned towards the crouched old man lowering into the turtle stance. His face looked determined, his small beady eyes displaying no signs of a weakness.

The masked man cocked his head in annoyance. He wasn't expecting for him to show up.

"Kyojin! Saisho no Keishiki Jutsu!" The shinobi quickly jumped away as a fist the size of his torso was swung at him. A condensed ball of ki flew through him and he quickly whirled around to block a following leg drop from the new fighter. His eye could see seals glowing on the bottom of the oncoming heel, no doubt ready to inflict a number of pain on him.

When the Uchiha raised his arms to guard, he threw the child into the incoming leg, smirking as she flailed helplessly.

In the blink of an eye the girl was covered by an enormous pair of hands. The giant man shouted in pain as the attack landed, but he kept his grip firm.

"Gohan!" the giant shouted in both pain and relief.

The old man quickly landed beside his friend."Don't drop your guard, he's still around here somewhere!"

Gyumao nodded. He refused to release his crying daughter, however. He continued to look around, but couldn't see the man anywhere.

"Gohan and Gyumao. Two students of the Turtle Hermit." They looked towards the castle and saw the man sitting on the wall. He was glaring at the two, and they matched his with equal intensity.

"What kind of sick creature are you?" The Ox King shouted in anger. "Trying to kidnap children? It's not right!"

"It matters not." The man quickly went through hand seals as he continued to speak. " It's seems you've made your decision to defy me."

"Burn in Hell!" The mighty giant shouted, causing a chuckle from their opponent.

"You're going to regret those words…" he growled as he finished on tiger.

" Katon! Aku no hōno Jutsu!" The man breathed a long stream of fire into the building to the shock of the old men. The flame seemed to consume the entire place in under two seconds!

"My castle!" Gyumao yelled. He glared hatefully at the monster in front of him. "How could you?"

The man shrugged casually. "It was easy, really." His form began to spiral, beginning with his eye. "Next time, it won't be the house I burn down."

A blast of ki was sent sailing through the man, just as he finished disappearing.

Gohan released a sigh, looking over at his friend. "Villains sure talk a lot, hmm?" A smile then crossed his old face. "Good to see ya!"

XxxoxxX

"And that's what happened." The Ox King always got emotional when he thought of that night. He nearly lost his daughter to that masked man. He was glad that his friend was there to save her.

"Don't beat yourself up for it. She's alive and well, and you're a great father no less!"

The large man smiled weakly. "That's why I don't trust her around strangers. I'm glad that he hasn't returned yet, but I have a feeling that one day he will."

Master Roshi frowned. He wasn't good at comforting men, but this was like a son to him. He put his hand on the man's shoulder. "I bet that when he does come, we'll be able to handle him! Just leave that up to me!"

The giant grinned much too wide for his massive face. "I trust you, master!"

XxxoxxX

Sorry guys for this weak chapter and ending. I just really didn't want black history month to end without giving you guys something. Remember, tell me how you feel about it, I'm rather sociable.

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu- Fire style: Great Fireball Technique

Katon: Aku no Hōno- Fire style! Evil flames!


	15. Budding Love, Growing Hate

A/N: sorry for the delay and confusion last week.

Budding Love, Growing Hate

The moon shone brightly above in the night sky. A large beautiful castle could be seen in the light cast by the glowing sphere. The monumental mansion, made of the most magnificent marble, stood proudly on its hill.

The scene looked tranquil from a distance. As one neared it however they would first be hit with a stench, the smell of burning flesh and the metallic tang of blood. If they were brave enough to venture further, they'd be greeted by a massacre.

The bodies of wolves were strewn around by the hundreds. They died in the most interesting ways; some cut into pieces beyond recognition, others burned so badly that their skins were morphed together, there faces reflecting the dying agony they felt. Others were froze in place, temporary statues that would eventually fall to the earth. Numerous piercings adorned some of the flock, but all had one thing in common. They were no more.

Although the outside was brutal, it had no comparison to the S ranked mission that was being held in the house.

In the throne room a stand-off was being held, two on one. Even without the numbers it was an unfair advantage.

A short creature was standing with his back to the wall. His face showed pure fear as he glared at his two attackers. Tiny legs quaked at an embarrassing pace while he fought to hold his bladder in. Beads of sweat flew off in waves as his body was shaking from the killing intent sent from the duo.

The first was a tall tan man, standing beside his throne. He was a very muscular figure, wearing a white hood and black mask that only displayed his oddly colored green and red eyes. Stitches could be seen throughout his body, and the Emperor of two knew its reasons.

The other was a noticeably younger man. His skin was extremely fair, and his head was full of slicked back grey hair. His purple eyes gazed at the smaller being maniacally, seeming to beg for his blood. He licked his lips at him, proving his theory and causing him to relieve himself.

Well, so much for that idea.

The taller took a step towards the midget creature, glaring menacingly at him. "Show me where the money is," he demanded the terrified being.

The younger man rolled his eyes. "What the fuck, Kakuzu, we're here for the Dragonballs, not some wad of cash! Besides," he licked the blade of his scythe, a long trail of blood smearing on his tongue, "Jashin hasn't had Her fill!"

Kakuzu glanced back at his companion, sending him a killer intent that would cripple most jonin. His partner merely smirked. "Wouldn't it be nice if you could kill me?" He then burst into maniacal laughter, gripping his gut while his body shook.

Kakuzu turned back to the small shivering figure. In a flash his arm stretched and his hand wrapped around the creatures neck, instantly retracting back to its normal length. He pulled the snarling being eye to eye with him and glared. His voice was only a whisper, but it promised death. "Where is it?"

The small emperor tried to struggle out of the grip, knowing that it was pointless. If only he'd hired that Zabuza guy to protect him! He could only mentally scold himself, knowing that his own stupidity would be the death of him. He looked to the left and saw the bodies of his two most loyal subordinates, Shu and Mai.

The carnage was brutal. The dog-man's nose was ripped off. His fingers were bent back at intervals that no being should ever have to experience. Each leg had stab wounds that were leaking his life's essence.

Mai was even worse. If Pilaf hadn't seen the way she was murdered, he wouldn't have known it was her. Each of the ladies limbs were missing, as well as her eyes. The skin was peeled off of her skull and he could already see flies beginning to leave their seeds on the corpses.

Pilaf turned back to his captors, his breakfast being forced back down by the fist tightening around his throat. He was shaken as to what to do. If he didn't tell them, he would die. If he did tell them, he would die. He knew the way it worked, considering the amount of hits he put out on others. "I-I-I-"

"-wrong answer!"

"GYAAAAAUUUUGHHH!"

The monster released a glass shattering scream as his right leg fell from his body. Out of instinct he glanced to where his limb used to be and nearly fainted. The cut wasn't even clean, the blade left a jagged tear in his thigh that was sickening to the eye.

Kakuzu turned toward his teammate and glared. The man simply shrugged.

"The fucker wasn't speaking anyway," he said with a smirk.

Pilaf would have lost consciousness if it weren't for the man forcibly shaking him. "Where's the money?"

"In the-the glass room..." he said weakly. The loss of blood had his eyes drooping over.

"Great," Hidan replied. "And the ball?"

"S-s-same spot..." The man's form went limp in the large man's hand. Kakuzu tossed him roughly onto the ground, turning to glance at the place.

"Hidan, go retrieve them," Kakuzu growled at the man.

Hidan glared back. "Do I look like your fucking slave!"

"I'm going to keep him alive, in case he's lying to us!" Hidan's glare remained, resulting in the older shinobi sighing. "You can use your ritual once this is over."

Hidan's face morphed into an excited smile. "Alright!" he yelled as he turned out of the room. He loved negotiating with his partner. He always tended to win, so long as money wasn't involved.

Kakuzu could only rub his hands in anticipation. He was aware that Pilaf was one of the richest beings, and this mission could prove to be fruitful. Although it was his top priority, he could give a damn about that Dragonball.

If he _were_ to find one, however, he'd probably sell it.

XxxoxxX

The great castle of the Ox King was beautiful to look at. The stars filling the night sky added to the beauty, reflecting off of the castle walls causing it to appear to shine. Through all the beauty however sat a lone figure.

Jiraiya sadly looked to the sky. As he sat, he could only feel remorse at the fact that his father was gone. To make matters worse, he hadn't seen the man in over a decade. Not that they didn't speak, he just was always so busy. The most communication they did was through carrier pigeons.

Jiraiya felt guilty that he couldn't put two and two together. The pole, the uniform, even the fighting stance was identical to his father. He heard through letters that the man was raising a child, but he never had the time to make a visit to meet his pseudo brother.

Gohan was an extremely supportive father. The man read every book that Jiraiya ever created. He was a huge fan of the first, but he also liked the sequels. Jiraiya could only smirk as he imagined the perverted man reading his newest material.

He released a labored sigh. The man always wanted grandkids, but he was never given them thanks to Jiraiya's fear of commitment. Jiraiya was aware of how lonely it could get in the area that they lived but he didn't want to rush a child just yet. He would have to thank Goku for giving the man some attention.

Jiraiya felt as though he betrayed his father. Although he was a well respected author, as well as one of the most powerful shinobi this world has ever known if he had to say so himself, he had absolutely nothing to show for it. No legacy to leave for his father after he would ultimately perish.

Jiraiya was pulled from his thoughts as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Naruto, gazing at him with concern. Jiraiya gave the child a weak smile.

"Hey gaki," he said, terribly attempting to put on a normal face. "Came to gaze at the stars with me?"

Naruto gave the man a smile back. "Nope. Just came to make sure that you were ok, ya know." He jumped onto the balcony that his sensei was leaning on. The boy fidgeted slightly, realizing that he'd never comforted anyone before. "So…" He sat on the last syllable for a few awkward seconds, "how are you doing?"

Jiraiya sighed. He couldn't hold back a smile, the boy's attempts at comfort was at least amusing. In the few weeks that he knew the child, he really grew fond of the boy. It did remind him of a certain red head as well. "I'm doing fine. Just a little shocked, ya know?" He turned his gaze back to the sky. "Never thought my father could ever die. He seemed invincible, at least to me."

Naruto nodded. It made him think of his reaction if his Jiji ever were to die. Growing up an orphan always made the boy wonder about who his parents were. Did they care for him? Which one did he look like? Why did they leave? These thoughts always went through his mind. He forced back a tear that threatened to fall.

"At least you got a chance to meet your dad..."

Jiraiya flinched at this. He looked towards his student and saw the tell tale signs of a depressed child. Although it was rare to see this in the boys eyes, his mask of happiness would crack on occasion.

It also made Jiraiya feel stupid. Here he was, moping around when the kid was through worse than he could even _dream_ of at that age. As he stared at the shaking child, he couldn't help but feel guilty at bringing these unwarranted emotions inside of him.

As if on instinct, the man hobbled towards the gaki and ruffled his hair. Naruto looked up at him with wet eyes, curiously gazing at his sensei.

Jiraiya grinned like he usually did. "Cheer up, kid. You have me, the great Jiraiya!" The man went to do his pose, but quickly began jumping in pain from his hurt leg.

Naruto snickered at this. "And you don't have to be so sad! At least you'll have something to brag to the your father about when you meet him in Otherworld!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh yeah? And what is that?"

The hyperactive genin jumped onto the railing that he was previously sitting on, thrusting a thumb into his own chest. "You raised the greatest shinobi to ever live!"

Jiraiya gazed at the boy with a renewed respect for him. As he stood there with that grin, he could only think of Kushina's declaration to become the Hokage, and her husband actually _succeeding_ at it, and reluctantly even. He smiled at the blonde in a strange feeling of déjà vu.

"You're right, kid. I did raise the greatest shinobi to ever live." He couldn't help but snicker as the boys smile widened. "The Fourth Hokage!"

"Hey!" the blonde angrily yelled as he jumped at his Sensei. "Take that back!"

Jiraiya snickered as he dodged the sloppy punch the boy threw. "Yeah ri-" In a poof of smoke, the white haired man was gone.

Naruto stared in the spot that his Sensei was not even a second ago. His eyebrows furrowed in anger. "That's rude, you old geezer!"

XxxoxxX

The living area of the castle was monumental. The space was wider than a football field was long. It had to be of course to accommodate the giant and his once large family.

The ceiling was aligned with the most ordinate chandelier; the glass on the top was turned upward to resemble the horn that was seen on the head of the king. On the walls were over a hundred pictures and paintings displaying a variety of people.

The furniture was massive and of the most decorative brand of its era, all of it the same ravishing purple and gold. The eight couches, each over ten feet long, were set up in an octagon with gaps to squeeze between them. In the center was a mat that was once used to wrestle and brawl his brethren; the couches were set that way to spectate and make bets with each other.

On the other corner was a library. No literally, a library. The mass amount of books could put a school to shame, and they were all organized based on genre and author name, something that was sure to take much time and precision. Upon seeing it Bulma made a beeline, her target clear in sight.

Chi-Chi was laying one of the couches, feet up kicking the air behind her. She was focusing fiercely on Goku. The young boy was currently doing katas with his power pole, viciously beating down an imaginary opponent. His face displayed extreme concentration as he went through his motions.

"Watcha doooooin'?" she asked the boy as he continued to swing his weapon.

"I'm training," Goku replied without looking in her direction. He ducked an imaginary kick and thrust his pole through the chest of an attacker.

"Oooooooh." Chi-Chi continued staring at him. She couldn't help but to notice his young physical features. He was chubby yet muscular, something that she thought was cute.

"Are you a ninja or something?"

Goku looked at the girl with a smile, his pole still thrust out ahead of him. "Nope. I'm a martial artist!"

"Me too!" Chi-Chi said as she jumped to her feet.

Goku cocked his head at her, reminding the girl of a confused dog. "I didn't know girls could be strong."

The princess pouted angrily at the boy, but it came off more as cute than anything. "You take that back!" she shouted, to which he replied with a tilt of his head.

"So you are strong?" A smile quickly morphed onto his face. "Want to train with me?"

This question caused the princess to momentarily freeze. If she were to be honest with herself, it had been a while since she really trained, and even longer since she did so willingly. Her father would force her to practice his techniques, but she was more concerned with her hair looking its best.

Her mind then replayed the entire spar that Goku was having. The opponent that she before couldn't see was now there, plain as day. The pink and blue clad girl was now as visible to her as it was to him, and she could only wince as each hit of his pole, fist, and feet beat the defenseless girl into a pulp. With his final thrust into her chest, the girl slumped forward, trembling hands gripping the weapon. She weakly looked into her doppelgängers eyes before she fell forward, defeated.

"M-m-maybe some other time," she stammered with an uncertain wave. The boy looked sad for only a second, before returning his flurry onto another opponent.

The girl watched, becoming more infatuated the more the boy sweat. Her face bright red, she decided to go for broke.

"So, Go…." she began awkwardly. They boy gave an acknowledging sound as he bicycle kicked and landed on his hands. The girl continued faster and with more force than she meant. "Doyouhaveagirlfriend?"

The boy paused, one leg straight in the air while the pole was thrust forward with both hands. "Huh?"

The cherry faced girl turned away from the boy. It should be easier talking if she couldn't see him, right? Taking a deep breath she began anew. "Do you have a girl that you," she paused as a shiver ran down her body, "love?"

The boy lowered his leg back to the ground, his arms relaxing as he held the pole. "What's love?"

" _He's trying to learn my definition of love!"_ The ebony haired female almost melted on the spot. She barely caught herself, leaning forward on the large couch. "Well…" she began, gathering her words before she embarrassed herself, "is there a girl that you'd fight for?" Chi-Chi began to rock foot to foot. "One that you'd want to make happy more than anything? The thought of disappointing brings a sad pang to your heart?"

Chi-Chi turned towards Goku at the end of her speech. She was surprised to see him cross legged on the ground, his pole horizontally in front of him.

"Hmm…" He scratched his head in thought. "A girl that I'd fight for…. And don't want to make sad?"

"Yes!" The girl was in his face, her eyes begging for an answer.

The boy looked down at the ground. He thought hard about the question, each passing second agonizing to the questioning girl.

His face suddenly lit up. "Oh! There is one person I fight for…"

"There is?" Chi-Chi failed at holding the disappointment out of her face.

"Yeah. And I always make her happy…"

The girls arms fell to her sides in defeat. "Y-you do?"

A quick nod and a yes followed. "And I don't know about sad, but I'm more scared to make her sad than anything.

A gloomy cloud could be seen over the girl. Although she didn't want the answer she had to ask it. "Who is she?" The lightness of her voice should have been surprising but she didn't notice it.

The boys head shot up, a big smile on his face. "That's easy! Her nam-"

"Goku, come over here right now!"

"Bulma!" With a hurried leap the boy was to his feet, dashing in the direction of the voice. His questioner stayed rooted to the spot, her face a mirror of agony.

"Go loves Bulma…"

XxxoxxX

Neji struggled to stand back to his feet. He was sweating and panting profusely from the strain he was being put through. His body was aching and he could feel his muscles beginning to swell.

His new sensei stood across from him with a wide smirk on his face. The man didn't have a single scratch on him. He stoically stared down his pupil, analyzing every move he saw.

Needless to say, he was a little disappointed.

"Please forgive me if I'm going too hard on you," he said with feigned innocence. "I only thought the Hyūga were _much_ stronger than this."

Neji glared at the man. He had to admit, this guy packed a punch. Surprisingly he was also good at hitting chakra points. He could easily halt an opponents use of chakra without breaking a sweat.

Neji lost the chakra to retain his Byakugan, grunting as his vision returned to 20/20. His knees buckled and he fell, gripping the destroyed dirt between his fingers.

Chakra exhaustion was quickly taking its toll on him. Training with Guy seemed hard, but this man was _ridiculous_. The word restraint seemed to have little meaning for him as he battered the boy brutally. Neji struggled to stand, but felt a foot gently land on his back.

The man lowered his eyes closer to his students face. He glared sternly at the teenager, the makings of a scowl on the sides of his mouth. "This will be our last training session, until after the exams. I want you to train that technique that I've been teaching you, both of them." His eyes lowered at the boy. "Do not lose in this exam, Neji, or there will be consequences." The man increased the pressure on Neji's back, causing him to grunt in pain. "Do you understand me?"

"Hai!" the boy quickly responded as the pain became too much for him to handle. The man continued to apply pressure, and then sped off into the sky, using the boys back as a spring board, effectively knocking him into the ground. Neji could hear the man's cackles as he continued to distance himself.

Neji rolled into his aching back, exhausted beyond belief. Guy sensei had never been as vicious as this man was, and he was a tough sensei himself!

He had to admit that it was helping, however. Neji could feel that he was much more powerful. His eyes were stronger and his chakra capacity and control were increasing as well.

Neji forced himself to his feet. He shakily began to walk through the trees, in no rush to get home. It was then that he heard footsteps.

"Byakugan!" Neji's eyes activated for a split second and he saw the culprit, marking his location in the time. Standing a few yards away was none other than this years top rookie, Sasuke. The boy looked as if he had trained himself to near chakra depletion as well.

Neji held in the cringe as pain assaulted him. He was dangerously low on chakra if his eyes couldn't even last a second. His Master was a beast!

Both boys glared at each other. They knew that the other was tough, but each believed to be the better.

Neji's blood began to boil as he stared at Sasuke. His mouth uncharacteristically gave a barely noticeable smirk; here before him was the person he was to destroy. He didn't care about his match with the Uzumaki, or even the sand kid that destroyed his pathetic teammate. No, this was much more important. Their match would decided which was truly better, the best the Hyūga could offer, or the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan. The sharingan versus the byakugan.

It was fated to come to this.

"What are you staring at?" Sasuke asked, annoyed with the Hyūga. He didn't really have any issues with the boy, but his teammate _did_ beat him rather soundly, so he didn't like him by association.

Neji's eyes narrowed, his face returning to its usual scowl. "You better show some respect to your superior, _rookie."_

Sasuke grit his teeth, fists shaking at his side. His former assessment of the teen changed in a split second, the once mere dislike morphing into despised. Not only did he lose to his idiotic partner, but he was supposed to be the better shinobi. But if he thought there wasn't any improvement since then then he was in for a surprise.

Neji calmly gazed at the Uchiha. He knew that Sasuke was no match for his skills, and that was before his new training regimen. Even Sasuke knew it, if he was as smart as he was praised to be. He was just pissed that his new sensei seemed blind to the truth.

"Watch it, Hyūga…" the Uchiha growled lowly. His body shifted into an aggressive stance; his left foot was pushed slightly ahead, his body leaning more forward. "Unless you're looking for a fight."

Neji's frown remained stoic. As much as he would like to destroy the boy it would be pointless to do so now. Plus, fighting when exhausted was idiotic at best. His sensei wouldn't approve of him doing it this way he was sure.

"No." With a twist of his heel the boy was headed west, towards the village. Each clack of his sandal was a shout to Sasuke's ears.

The boy began to relax, silently cursing his excessive training for the day. He knew he wasn't ready for a fight, he barely had the chakra for a single Fireball.

"Besides," he tensed as the voice carried back towards him. "I wouldn't want to waste my time. It took Lee all of ten seconds to beat you, yet he's _never_ beaten _me."_

Before he could finish his proclamation Sasuke was already leaping in his direction, fist cocked to attack.

"Come on you Hyūga trash!" he yelled as closed in.

Neji gracefully ducked under the punch and forcefully shoved the following knee away. Sasuke used the momentum from the push to spin and try to strike with a closed fist.

Surprise colored his face as Neji ducked and grabbed the appendage in a single motion, hurling the preteen over his shoulder. Sasuke caught himself with the other hand and pushed off the ground to avoid the following palm strike. Upon landing on his feet he began to jump away, throwing shuriken to hide his retreat.

With a disinterested grunt Neji withdrew a kunai. He swatted the weapons away without moving an inch.

"Running away?" The teen crossed his arms nonchalantly. "I'm sure the Uchiha are proud."

Sasuke held in the growl, not wanting to give away his hiding spot. As much as he would like to pound his pretty face in for the insult he held it in. A lot of the training Kakashi gave over the last week was to control his hot temper. The man relentlessly taunted him, having fun at seeing the boy go on a rampage.

Sasuke was quick to learn however that the more frustrated he got, the more violent his sensei did. On his first day of what the cyclops called "tantrum training", after the boy was embarrassed by … _that_ jutsu, he roared some… rude things at his sensei. After ignoring the fight and trying his hardest to grab the book the man was reading instead and actually succeeding to singe the page that was the white haired mans focus, he was finally introduced to how it felt to face a sharingan.

Lesson learned.

Back to the present, Sasuke weighed his options. He could fight Neji toe to toe… if he wanted to lose. Lee was a taijutsu specialist and couldn't beat him.

His chakra was too low for a jutsu assault, and Sasuke took the fact that Neji had yet to use his eyes as a good sign. He must've been low as well or else the hiding position wouldn't do its job at all.

And then… there was _that._

The gift that he was unwillingly given by that snake bastard. Although he promised Kakashi not to use it, the thing was resourceful. The backlash was a bitch, but it got better every time.

' _No,'_ he mentally chided, ' _it's not worth it.'_

' _Or is it?'_

' _Kakashi told me not to.'_

' _Kakashi isn't_ here.'

He was shocked at his thoughts clashing. He was usually a decisive person, but this new voice was making sense. He _could_ end it quickly. All it would take was a bit of chakra...

Sasuke paused he heard sandals clicking. Risking it, he glanced around his tree. Neji walked calmly towards the village, ignoring his fellow genin.

Without looking back, Neji began speaking. "This bout is frivolous. Neither of us are in top condition, and it is unfair to have a strictly taijutsu fight." The Uchiha ignored the barb, knowing that it was more a fact than a boast. He also didn't want to let the boy know that he could have chakra if he wanted too.

"I will warn you, however." Neji suddenly stopped walking. Their hair blew in the wind as they stood stoically. The elder teen glanced over his shoulder, making eye contact. "Train." Ebony orbs narrowed at the single word that came out more as a demand then anything. "I've made leaps and bounds in the past week. If you even hope to pose a threat, then don't take this one lightly." He turned fully to face Sasuke. "I will defeat you, Uchiha."

Sasuke silently leered as Neji continued his trek to the compound. He watched him walk away, his anger building at the exchange. Neji spoke as if he'd already _won_ the fight. Sure he was a year ahead but that meant little.

Sasuke was focused to _kill_ a _monster_ , not just fight some genin. If the stuck up prick thought that his game of intimidation was working, he was in for a surprise. If anything, it only pissed Sasuke off.

He had ten days until the second round. That was plenty of time to cram in training, as well as time to rest and relax.

With a silent hn, he shoved his hands in his pocket and began to stroll home. His mind was so full and his body so tired that he didn't notice the two that watched the entire exchange.

"Guy, did you see?" Kakashi silently asked. His voice was strict, sounding more like the Anbu captain he was than the Jonin Sensei he is.

His eternal rival nodded somberly. "So that's the cursed mark?" he whispered as the seals receded back into the boy. It made the normally stoic man's skin crawl.

The child's seal was leaking. Kakashi was sure that he sealed it well, but apparently he wasn't as good as he thought. He would have to take him to the greatest seal master that belonged the the village.

Even though he already regretted asking.

XxxoxxX


End file.
